In order to provide a safe crossing for pedestrians and decongest roads, the National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is executing the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System – India’s first rapid rail project – is constructing three bridges at Anand Vihar Rapidx station in Delhi. “A dedicated pedestrian bridge is being constructed at Anand Vihar RAPIDX station of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor. Apart from this, two separate bridges are also being built for segregated entry and exit of vehicles into the station premises as a part of multimodal integration with all existing modes of transport at this point,” an NCRTC official said. The three bridges will be built over the Ghazipur drain passing between Anand Vihar RAPIDX station and Chaudhary Charan Singh Marg. While the right bridge will be used for vehicular entry inside the Anand Vihar RAPIDX station, the left bridge will be used for vehicular exit. The middle bridge will be used only for the to-and-fro movement of pedestrians inside the station premises. The bridge being constructed over the Ghazipur drain for the entry of vehicles into the Anand Vihar RAPIDX station is about 10 metres wide. Taxis, private vehicles etc will be able to enter the premises from this entrance bridge and drop passengers at the station gate. The exit bridge being constructed over the drain at the left end of the station is 13 metres wide and will enable these vehicles to drive back to the main road. The pedestrian-only bridge is 6 metres wide. Lakhs of commuters travel daily from Anand Vihar via various modes of transport. It has been often observed that passengers have to go through a lot of trouble to change their modes of transport. This leads to overcrowding, which hinders the movement of vehicles and leads to traffic jams on the road, officials said. Keeping these problems in mind, the NCRTC decided to construct separate entry and exit routes to ensure the smooth, convenient and safe travel of commuters. The location of the station has also been strategically planned in such a way that it is built as close as possible to existing public transport means, officials added. The station is being integrated with six modes of public transport, which include Swami Vivekananda (Anand Vihar) inter-state bus stand, city bus stand, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation bus stand at Kaushambi, two Metro lines (pink and blue line) and the Anand Vihar railway station. A bus stop is also proposed to be built on the main road along these bridge routes. Commuters can get down here and enter the station through these bridges. Stairs, lifts and escalators will also be provided. The NCRTC aims to make the entire 82 km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor operational by 2025. Before that, it will commission the 17 km-long priority section of this corridor this year.
