In a bid to ease traffic situation in Delhi and to give the national capital a comprehensive suburban network, the Railway Ministry is now trying to revive the ring rail system here.

As per a report, the Ministry of Railways has planned to revive and then integrate the ring rail system with the Delhi Metro.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said together as part of the integrated network, the Delhi Metro and the ring rail has the capability to unclog Delhi and send “50% cars off the roads”.

A study has already been commissioned to work out the modalities of the project, the report said.

Further, to reduce the burden on the rail network in Delhi, the ministry is mulling a separate bypass for freight trains passing through Delhi. Goyal said the aim is to let trains, which are not bound for Delhi, to bypass it.

There is a 35-km-long ring rail network in Delhi which touches the Metro rail network at several places. However, no effort has so far been made to link the two. But, this might change now.

The Railway Minister said Metro will be connected to the ring rail network as part of the project, as the former has been “a boon for Delhi”.

The study that is underway will evaluate whether new lines or linkages are required to connect the Metro and ring rail systems. The ministry is looking at linkages and interchanges with the Metro system, the report added.

Delhi got its ring rail system in 1975 for freight purposes and was tapped for passenger trains in 1982 when the city played host to the Asian Games.