NEW DELHI: In yet another setback to the ambitious highspeed Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project, Delhi government has objected to the plan for creating an elevated station at Sarai Kale Khan that is also to be the nerve centre of the corridor in the capital.The massive station, the originating point of the Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Alwar RRTS corridors, was originally planned as an underground station. The government said the change in plans would delay the project to redevelop Sarai Kale Khan Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT).Delhi government will write to project executors National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and advise it to retain the original plan. “Before taking the station from underground to elevated, Delhi government’s consent was not taken,” state transport minister Kailash Gahlot told TOI.“The Sarai Kale Khan ISBT redevelopment project is very important, and NCRTC changing the station plan from underground to elevated is not acceptable as it will seriously delay the ISBT redevelopment.”According to sources in the government, there is also a decade-old plan to build a hotel near the ISBT, which would not be possible if the massive elevated station came up in the area. When asked about the government’s objections, an NCRTC spokesman, however, said, “We are not aware of any such decision and, therefore, cannot comment on the same. When the issue was raised earlier, after discussions, Delhi government’s transport department had given in-principle approval.”According to sources in NCRTC, the plan was changed because it was discovered that building an underground station would not only be res wide and 300 metres long. It has been given much space considering that three proposed RRTS corridors will converge here. “Since the corridors will have up and down tracks, there will be a total of six tracks converging at Sarai Kale Khan. That is why the station needed to be spacious,” explained an NCRTC official.The convergence at Sarai Kale Khan will create an interchange between corridors for commuters. Once the RRTS station comes up at Sarai Kale Khan, there are plans to connect it with other modes of transport, including the railway and bus systems. Costlier than an elevated station, but connecting it with other modes of transport would also pose challenges.In July, in a letter to Hardeep Puri, Union minister for housing and urban affairs, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the state government did not have the funds to pay its share of Rs 1,138 crore of the Rs 32,000 crore projected cost and requested the Centre to bear the capital’s share. The 82-km, high-speed corridor, which promises to reduce travel time between Delhi and Meerut to 60 minutes, has already received the approval of the Uttar Pradesh government. Only a 13-km portion of the corridor falls in Delhi, but the project is yet to be approved by the Delhi government.Three of the corridor’s stations will be located in Delhi at Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar and New Ashok Nagar. The Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station is planned to be 50 metres wide and 300 metres long. It has been given much space considering that three proposed RRTS corridors will converge here. “Since the corridors will have up and down tracks, there will be a total of six tracks converging at Sarai Kale Khan. That is why the station needed to be spacious,” explained an NCRTC official.The convergence at Sarai Kale Khan will create an interchange between corridors for commuters. Once the RRTS station comes up at Sarai Kale Khan, there are plans to connect it with other modes of transport, including the railway and bus systems.