The alignment of the proposed Delhi-Haryana RapidX corridor has seen major changes, which will see the entire Gurgaon section run along the expressway (NH-8) with stations at Cyber Hub, Rajiv Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk and Kherki Daula.
Earlier, the alignment of the corridor was via Old Delhi-Gurgaon road, meeting NH-8 only at Signature Towers. The revised alignment will see the RapidX corridor enter Gurgaon from Aerocity, with Cyber Hub as the first station of the city. This, however, will necessitate a new detailed project report (DPR), which will push back the project’s timeline.
According to the new plan, the RapidX track will run along the Delhi-Jaipur side of the expressway from Aerocity to Cyber Hub. From Cyber Hub, it will shift to the other side of the expressway till Kherki Daula, where a three-level underground station will be built. The next three stations – Manesar, Pachgaon and Dharuhera – will be at the ground level. The track will terminate at Dharuhera, unlike the previous plan, in which the 107km-long corridor ended at the Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror (SNB) urban complex in Rajasthan.
This will shorten the corridor to around 80km, of which 60km will be in Gurgaon and Rewari districts of Haryana. The Cyber Hub, Rajiv Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk and Kherki Daula stations will be underground.
The earlier alignment was from Aerocity to Kapashera border and further to Atul Kataria Chowk via the Old Delhi-Gurgaon road. It was proposed to cross Signature Towers and Rajiv Chowk to reach Kherki Daula.
The Delhi portion of the corridor remains unchanged – it will start from Sarai Kale Khan, the junction where the Haryana line and the Delhi-Meerut RapidX corridor will meet, and reach Aerocity via Jor Bagh and Munirka. The entire Delhi section will be underground.
TOI has learnt that though the original plan was to take the corridor along the expressway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had not agreed to this since it had some plans for expansion and additional work. “NHAI has now agreed to allow the RapidX line along the expressway and has conveyed its consent to the NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC), so the changes have been made. The corridor will cater to a large number of office-goers working in the Cyber City area,” an official from the transport ministry said.
The NCRTC, which is building the RapidX corridor, is preparing the new DPR. It has already completed pre-construction work for the earlier alignment, including shifting utilities and clearing encroachment along the Old Delhi-Gurgaon road. Officials from the corporation didn’t comment on the change in route.
In July this year, CM Manohar Lal Khattar blamed the Delhi government for delay in work on the Delhi-Gurgaon-SNB and Delhi-Sonipat routes. Khattar alleged the Delhi government had been creating obstacles in these two routes and suggested that the Gurgaon route begin from Aerocity.
Source : TOI