RRTS corridors could expand India’s labour market: Crisil’s Jagannarayan Padmanabhan

From an economic perspective, RRTS corridors like the Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat line deliver several benefits, according to Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, senior director and global head-consulting at Crisil Intelligence. Speaking to TOI, he said such corridors expand the labour market by allowing people to commute from satellite cities without relocating, while reducing congestion on highways such as NH-9, NH-44 and the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway by encouraging a shift away from private vehicles.

Padmanabhan added that RRTS promotes transit-oriented development around stations, creating new commercial, residential and mixed-use hubs, while improving regional productivity as shorter, more reliable commutes translate into higher economic efficiency. The corridors also support environmental goals by lowering vehicular emissions and reducing dependence on private transport, he said.

The Delhi-Meerut corridor, stretching 80 kilometres, is the first full stretch of the RRTS network, running at maximum speeds of 160 kmph and completing the Delhi-Meerut journey in under an hour. Since its full inauguration in February 2026, ridership has crossed about 3.5 crore passenger journeys, with roughly one lakh passengers travelling daily, according to NCRTC managing director Shalabh Goel.

Vivek Agarwal, partner and lead, head-public infrastructure at KPMG in India, said businesses gain flexibility to relocate or expand into Tier-2 cities along the corridors, since seamless connectivity ensures access to talent and markets without being concentrated in Delhi. ‘This helps distribute economic activity more evenly across the region, fostering planned urban growth rather than overburdening a single city,’ he told TOI.

Padmanabhan sees RRTS as a viable model for other metropolitan regions with substantial daily intercity commuting within a roughly 50-150 km radius, citing potential corridors around Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.