New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inauguration of the entire 82km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor on Sunday, a non-stop Namo Bharat train covered the distance from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Begumpul in Meerut in 40 minutes on Friday. With the scheduled stops, the journey will take about 54 minutes to Begumpul and 58 minutes to the terminal station at Modipuram.
The pre-launch ride, taken by this reporter, touched the top speed of 159kmph. The Namo Bharat trains have a design speed of 180kmph but a maximum operational speed of 160kmph. While the trains will complete journey in less than an hour, the distance is covered by road in around one and a half hours, which sometimes stretches to around two hours during peak traffic.
Sarai Kale Khan Namo Bharat station in Delhi, which will be the convergence point for three regional rapid transit system (RRTS) corridors, will also be inaugurated on Sunday. Three more stations, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram, will be commissioned in the Uttar Pradesh section. The Jangpura station in Delhi will be constructed later. The total project completion cost is Rs 30,274 crore.
Currently, a 55km section across 11 stations from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South is operational. Commuters travelling on this stretch said the launch of the entire corridor would ensure a more comfortable ride and also save time. "I work in Delhi and am currently based in Ghaziabad, but I am from Meerut. My home is just a few metres from Begumpul station. I am planning to shift my base to Meerut, from where I can now easily travel for work daily," said Sunita Singh.
Suraj Kumar, a resident of Meerut, said he started working in Chandni Chowk a few months ago after the inauguration of the current stretch.
Sarai Kale Khan station will become a major transport hub with multi-modal integration with Delhi Metro (Pink Line), Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT and city bus services. A skywalk has been constructed to connect Nizamuddin, Namo Bharat and metro stations. It also provides entry or exit towards Ring Road from gate number 4 of the Namo Bharat station. A foot overbridge with travelators will also connect the Namo Bharat station with the railway station. The skywalk, too, is connected to this FOB.
The station has dedicated pick-up and drop-off zones for buses and four-wheelers for smooth movement. It has a 5.5-metre-wide car or taxi drop-off lane and a 7.5-metre-wide city bus drop-off lane. The station's parking space can accommodate 275 cars and 900 two-wheelers.
"Namo Bharat stations, including Sarai Kale Khan, will facilitate the seamless movement of commuters from one mode to another. The implementation of the entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor is expected to shift the modal share in favour of public transport from 37% to 63% in the region, which ultimately helps in curbing pollution," said an official of National Capital Region Transport Corporation, which is executing the RRTS project.
Sarai Kale Khan station will serve as the converging point between all three corridors — Delhi-Panipat-Karnal, Delhi-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut — under the first phase of RRTS. "This interoperability will allow passengers to travel between corridors without changing trains," said the official.
After the other two corridors are completed, the length of Delhi's mass transit system, including Delhi Metro, will be 743km, which is more than the length of London Crossrail, Hong Kong MTR and Paris RER, said officials.
The Namo Bharat corridors will be integrated with all lines of Delhi Metro, wherever interconnecting. "While Namo Bharat will act as a backbone for regional transportation, Delhi Metro lines will complement it by providing feeder and dispersal services," said the official.
Besides having transverse 2x2 seats, Namo Bharat coaches have grab handles and rails for standing passengers and overhead luggage rack. Every train has a premium coach with more spacious, comfortable and reclining seats. One coach on every train is reserved for women passengers.
Priyangi Agarwal writes on environmental and climate change issue...
Read MorePriyangi Agarwal writes on environmental and climate change issues, connecting these topics to the everyday lives of people. She tracks developments across the capital’s transport hubs—Delhi Metro, Namo Bharat Trains, and Delhi Airport—while also reporting on pressing social issues. Her stories blend data analysis with voices from the ground to tell human-centred narratives. Previously stationed in western Uttar Pradesh, she focused her coverage on minority issues, health, and human rights.
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