CHINESE FIRM IN THE FRAY FOR RRTS

CHINESE FIRM IN THE FRAY FOR RRTS PROJECT 

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said the tender for the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project was yet to be finalised and that rules did not permit any discrimination 

Ministry’s statement comes amid tensions between India and China

Asian Development Bank funded package for design and construction of 5.6 km tunnel through tunnel boring machine and one RRTs station

Five bids were received for the project of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation

The bidders were SKEC (Korea + Tata, STEC (China), L&T (India), Afcons (India) and GulermakAgir (Turkey)

Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT): Also known as heavy rail, metro, subway, tube, U-Bahn, metropolitana or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas

The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit

In 1890 the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing the term Subway into railway terminology

Rapid transit systems are electric railways that operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles of any sort 

The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform

Modern service on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on rail tracks, although some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation (maglev), or monorail

Rapid transit topologies are determined by a large number of factors, including geographical barriers, existing or expected travel patterns, construction costs, politics, and historical constraints

A transit system is expected to serve an area of land with a set of lines, which consist of shapes summarized as "I", "U", "S", and "O" shapes or loops

China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world

 

The world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro

The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations is the New York City Subway 

 

Compared to other modes of transport, rapid transit has a good safety record, with few accidents.