New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Delhi section of the Namo Bharat corridor between Ashok Nagar and Sahibabad. Of the 13-kilometre section, six kilometre is underground and includes a prominent station on the corridor, Anand Vihar.

PM Modi purchased a smart ticket and interacted with passengers during his ride on the Namo Bharat Train.

He was also seen interacting with school children, who gifted him sketches and recited poems.

#WATCH | Sahibabad, UP: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to undertake a ride in Namo Bharat Train from Sahibabad RRTS Station to New Ashok Nagar RRTS Station.

(Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/CBRIF5Nj94

— ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2025

With this inauguration, Namo Bharat trains will now arrive in the national capital. PM Modi inaugurated the 17 km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot in October last year.

This also marks the first time that Namo Bharat trains will operate in an underground section, the officials said.

The passenger operations will commence from 5 pm today and trains will be available to the public at a frequency of 15 minutes. The fare from New Ashok Nagar RRTS station to Meerut South is Rs 150 for standard coach and Rs 225 for premium coach.

Currently, a 42-km stretch of the corridor between Sahibabad and Meerut South, featuring nine stations, is operational. With this inauguration, the operational stretch of the Namo Bharat corridor will expand to 55 km, with a total of 11 stations.

Delhi-Meerut Travel Time Reduced

With the commencement of operations on this section, Meerut is now directly connected to Delhi. This will reduce travel time by one-third, enabling commuters to travel from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South in just under 40 minutes.

Anand Vihar underground station is one of the largest stations on the Namo Bharat corridor. Commuters will be able to travel from here to Meerut South in just 35 minutes.

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 are to be used for vehicle entry and exit, while one is exclusively for pedestrians, they said.

New Ashok Nagar is the first elevated Namo Bharat station to be operational on the Delhi section. Here, the corridor crosses the New Ashok Nagar metro station at a height of 20 meters.

Along with train services, a commercial centre has also been planned at the station for the convenience of commuters. This station is being connected to the Blue Line of Delhi Metro through a 90-meter-long foot over bridge, the officials said.

To date, Namo Bharat trains have served over 50 lakh commuters.

Further construction in other sections — New Ashok Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut South-Modipuram — is underway.

Once the entire Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor becomes operational, it is projected to remove over one lakh private vehicles from the roads and reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 lakh tonnes annually.

Covering 82 km, the Namo Bharat corridor originates at Sarai Kale Khan in New Delhi and terminates at Modipuram in Meerut.

It features 16 Namo Bharat stations along with nine additional stations for the Meerut Metro, making it a comprehensive and transformative regional transit solution. 

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first semi-high-speed regional rail service regional called ‘Namo Bharat’. The historic moment marked the introduction of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in India. Notably, these trains have seen an average daily ridership of around 3000 since being opened for public use on October 21, 2023. Recently, an X user posted a stunning video of a Namo Bharat train crossing the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway is a 135 km long, six-lane expressway that passes through Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was impressed with the visuals and applauded the user, calling it a ”great video.” He said that the user’s timeline gives a good perspective of the new India they are building together. 

”Stunning View of #Namo_Bharat train crossing Eastern Peripheral Expressway,” YouTuber Mohit Kumar who covers Infrastructure Projects, wrote on X while sharing the video. 

Watch the video here:

Great video…

Your Timeline gives a good perspective of the new India we are building together. https://t.co/sgiyKXeOrI

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 12, 2024

After getting a shout-out from the PM, Mr Kumar expressed his happiness and gratitude and wrote, ”I am thrilled by looking at responses post PM’s tweet on my work. My deepest gratitude towards 
@narendramodi ji for not only appreciating but also encouraging all the creators. Thank You so much, Sir. Today is a really good day.”

I am thrilled by looking at responses post PM’s tweet on my work.

My deepest gratitude towards @narendramodi ji for not only appreciating but also encouraging all the creators.

Thank You so much Sir. Today is the really good dayhttps://t.co/lyPXgxhXbjhttps://t.co/lbwn2UNmkP

— Mohit Kumar (@DetoxTravellerr) March 12, 2024

According to the Prime Minister’s office, ‘Namo Bharat’ is a transformational regional development initiative, which is designed to provide high-speed trains for intercity commuting. 

The 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor, between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot, has five stations — Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. 

RRTS trains prioritise passenger comfort with features like overhead storage, Wi-Fi, and charging options at each seat. CCTV cameras, an emergency door-opening mechanism and a button to communicate with a train operator are among the safety features of this train.

The entire 82.15 km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS is targeted to be operational by June 2025.

Ghaziabad:

Commuters on Saturday expressed their pleasure at travelling on India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot. PM Modi inaugurated the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor at Sahibabad RapidX Station in Uttar Pradesh and flagged off the RapidX train connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot, marking the launch of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in the country.

“No matter how much money is spent; time should be saved. Because in the office I have to punch my attendance on time. Looks like a very good facility here. I have been travelling in the metro since 2002 and I have been waiting for this. Women are working here, it is a good thing to promote them,” a passenger told ANI.

Regional Rail, christened RAPIDX, will have an operational speed of 160 km per hour and several features including a women’s coach and a premium coach. RAPIDX will also have a train attendant.

“My route is different but I came here to see what is new. My route which takes one hour is being covered in half an hour. I am very happy about this. Facilities are also good here,” another passenger said.

The passenger operations in the inaugurated section begin on October 21. This section has five stations, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. RAPIDX has a design speed of 180 km per hour and an operational speed of 160 km per hour, officials said, adding that the first corridor will be 82 km long connecting Delhi with Meerut.

A RapidX train will have six coaches with the capacity to carry about 1700 commuters. It includes both seating and standing space for the commuters.

RapidX will have a dedicated women’s coach on every train. To ensure safe and comfortable regional travel for women, the second coach while moving from Delhi to Meerut will be reserved for the women. This reserved coach will have a seating capacity of 72 passengers. An additional 10 seats are also reserved for women in other coaches of the train.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)