Budget 2026: RRTS operator NCRTC sees 25% cut in allocation

National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the operator of Namo Bharat trains or Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), has seen a 25 percent year-on-year cut in allocation in the Union Budget 2026.

The ministry of housing and urban affairs had allocated Rs 2,918 crore to the NCRTC in FY26, but the revised estimate shows a total expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore on the Namo Bharat trains operator. For FY27, the ministry has earmarked an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore for NCRTC.

The latest numbers show a consistent dip in NCRTC’s allocation. In FY25, the government spent Rs 3,855 crore on NCRTC.

NCRTC, a joint venture company of the Government of India and states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, is mandated for implementing the Namo Bharat project across the National Capital Region.

The RRTS project aims to offer high frequency, point to point regional travel at high speed. Namo Bharat is different from metro as it caters to passengers looking to travel relatively longer distance with fewer stops and at higher speed. While average speed of metro rail is 30 kilometres per hour, the RRTS has an average speed of 80 km per hour, with a maximum operational speed of 160 km per hour, according to government estimates.

Currently, only Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS is operational. The first Namo Bharat RRTS corridor has around 55 km in service and is progressing towards full commissioning of around 82 km through phased openings and multimodal integration at hubs such as Anand Vihar, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26.

“The Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) represents a structural shift in India’s approach to regional urban mobility, positioning high-speed commuter rail as economic infrastructure rather than a transport add-on. Spanning 82 km and designed for speeds up to 180 kmph, the corridor reduces Delhi-Meerut travel times to under one hour, compared to 1.5-2 hours by road. The project’s financing structure — 20 per cent each from the Centre and participating states, and 60 per cent from ADB, AIIB and NDB — demonstrates a scalable template for leveraging public capital to crowd in development finance for urban-regional connectivity,” the Economic Survey noted.

“The Namo Bharat RRTS also delivers substantial labour-market and inclusion benefits. Construction generated roughly 166 lakh mandays between 2019 and 2025, while operations are expected to support around 12 lakh mandays annually. Early accessibility estimates suggest large gains in jobs reachable within one hour — nearly 6.9-7.6 lakh for Meerut and about one lakh for Sarai Kale Khan — expanding effective labour markets across the region,” the survey explained.

The Economic Survey highlighted the identification of nearly 2,900 km of potential Namo Bharat RRTS corridors across regional clusters such as Bengaluru-Mysuru-Tumakuru-Hosur, Chennai-Vellore-Villupuram-Chengalpattu and Hyderabad-Warangal, among others, suggesting that, with a modest and predictable central outlay, this model could unlock high economic multipliers and support the emergence of India’s mega-regions as engines of growth.