Traveling from Delhi to Meerut via Ghaziabad in less than an hour sounds like a dream, even if not during rush hours. However, from Sunday evening, this smooth journey will be a reality as the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), also known as the Namo Bharat Train, will be available to the public at a frequency of 15 minutes.
The fare from New Ashok Nagar station, the first operational station on the Delhi to Meerut route, to Meerut South will be Rs 150 for standard coach and Rs 225 for premium coach, an official statement announced on Saturday. The minimum fare in standard coach starts from Rs 20 and goes up to Rs 150 for a single trip while in premium coach it ranges between Rs 30 and Rs 225.
Till now, RRTS train services, which were first launched in 2023, were available only between Meerut and Ghaziabad. The 42-km stretch of the corridor between Sahibabad and Meerut South has nine stations. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate an additional 13-km stretch of the Delhi-Meerut NaMo Bharat Corridor between Sahibabad and New Ashok Nagar, marking a significant development in regional connectivity. With this inauguration, NaMo Bharat trains will reach Delhi, ushering in a new chapter of high-speed mobility options for the capital. With this inauguration, the operational stretch of the NaMo Bharat Corridor will increase to 55 km, with a total of 11 stations. After the PM’s inauguration, passenger operations will begin from 5 pm on January 5. The trains will be available to the public at a frequency of 15 minutes. “With the commencement of operations on this section, the city of Meerut is now directly connected to the national capital Delhi through NaMo Bharat. This will reduce travel time by one-third, allowing passengers to travel from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South in just 40 minutes,” said a National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) statement.
Last week, News18 had reported that the train service has served over 50 lakh passengers, indicating its popularity and impact.
Sahibabad-New Ashok Nagar section
Six kilometres of the 13-km section is underground and includes a major station on the corridor – Anand Vihar – which is the first station when entering Delhi from Meerut. This is the first time that NaMo Bharat trains will run on an underground section. The second station on this section is an elevated station at New Ashok Nagar. Both stations are located in Delhi.
The travel time to reach Meerut South from New Ashok Nagar is less than 40 minutes, while from Anand Vihar it is just 35 minutes.
The Anand Vihar station is one of the largest stations on the corridor and provides multi-modal integration between six existing modes of public transport in the region. These include two ISBTs at Swami Vivekanand (Anand Vihar) and Kaushambi, two corridors of the Metro (Pink and Blue Lines), Anand Vihar railway station as well as city bus stands. Through this station, passengers from Meerut and Delhi will be able to travel seamlessly to any corner of the country from Metro, ISBT and Railway Station. Separate entry and exit gates as well as FOB facilities have been provided at the station to ensure seamless, convenient and safe travel for passengers. For the convenience of passengers, Anand Vihar station has been built at a depth of just eight meters from the ground. To make the corridor possible at such a depth, it has been constructed below the basement of the metro lines passing through Anand Vihar. This is a complex task from the point of view of construction and civil engineering, but NCRTC, committed to passenger convenience, has made it possible by using new technologies, strategic planning and innovative methods. As a special arrangement for the movement of vehicles and pedestrians at this station, three bridges have been built over the Ghazipur drain. Two of these bridges will be used for entry and exit of vehicles, while one bridge is only for pedestrians.
The station will provide convenience to commuters from nearby areas like Shrestha Vihar, Ramprastha, Brij Vihar and Surajmal Vihar as well as from various parts of Delhi and the country.
On the other hand, New Ashok Nagar station is the first elevated station in Delhi. It crosses the New Ashok Nagar metro station at a height of 20 metres. Construction at such a height from an already existing and operational metro station, without disrupting the service, is a significant achievement from an engineering point of view.
Once the entire Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor becomes operational, it is estimated to remove over one lakh private vehicles from the roads and reduce 2.5 lakh tonnes of carbon emissions annually.