INTERVIEW
Q&A with Vinay Kumar In about sixteen months from the sanction of the project, we recently Singh, Managing Director, launched the first segmental span on the RRTS corridor National Capital Region Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut between Guldhar and Duhai, which demonstrates NCRTC’s meticulous Transport Corporation Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh, an IRSE Officer is leading the RRTS projects since 2016. He is first regular Managing Director of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and is working hard from the front to achieve the target in timely manner.
What is the level of progress of the RRTS station at Sarai Kale Khan, where it is supposed to serve as the backbone for multimodal connectivity with existing modes of public transportation?
planning and collaborative approach with stakeholders to deliver the project on time.
Sarai Kale Khan will be seamlessly integrated with the Hazrat Nizamuddin
The Delhi-Meerut RRTS project must have been impacted by labour issues. Is it expected to begin operations by 2023?
railway station, Delhi Metro Pink Line’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station and the Sarai Kale Khan ISBT.
The return of labourers to their hometowns has been an issue across sectors. However, it is equally true that proactive pro-labour initiatives by us and some other employers during the lockdown have helped many projects to retain labourers.
As far as progress is concerned, detailed designing of the station has been completed. The multimodal integration scheme of the station has been finalized after deliberations and discussions with the stakeholders and approvals have been obtained. The station architecture has been designed with an aim to transform the entire area in a way that will facilitate ease of pedestrian movement from one mode to another. The same has been verified by doing a simulation of commuter movement in the station and surrounding areas. Subsequent to GNCTD’s (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) approval, preconstruction works have been initiated. Soil investigation is complete and pile load test and diversion of utilities such as 11 KV, 33 KV (BSES & DTL) lines are in progress. The construction of the station is expected to start after the monsoon.
In a recent conversion with Mr. Jatin Anand (The Hindu), Mr. Singh talks about his priority projects, their progress and how they will make travel smoother in the city. Here are excerpts: The lockdown has impacted several infrastructural projects between March and June. How did it impact the NCRTC Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects? The COVID-19 crisis is indeed an unprecedented situation for every sector. However, such situations also present an opportunity for each sector in a unique way. We saw this as an opportunity to upscale the deployment of technologies. In 2016, I had conceived NCRTC is a technology-driven organization with extensive use of digital tools in project management and execution of RRTS projects. We have been using electronic platforms and IT tools in our day-to-day functioning such as internal approvals, procurement, designing etc. Thus, during the lockdown, we were able to sustain the momentum fairly well. While the construction activities came to a halt during lockdown 1.0, we diverted our efforts and focused on other activities. Tender processes were expedited; for the first time, pre-bid meetings were held through videoconferencing. Further, activities related to the finalisation of detailed design and drawings of civil structures, stations etc. were accelerated. Once the relaxations were announced, we resumed the civil construction with strict adherence to standard operating procedures and guidelines issued by the governments. WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM
The RRTS is the first of its kind project in the country. With no local benchmarks, it is certainly a challenging task to complete the 17-km priority section between Sahibabad to Duhai within a target time of four years from the sanction of the project. We have resumed and expedited all construction activities after the relaxations were announced. After completion of foundations and substructures, we have started launching superstructures in various stretches of the priority section. The lockdown did pause the construction activities for a while but NCRTC is making all-out efforts to commission the project on time.
How will the NCRTC manage crowds?
NOVEMBER 2020 // Urban Transport Infrastructure
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