New Delhi, October 5 Taking another important step towards preparing India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), NCRTC on Saturday started trial runs between Sahibabad-New Ashok Nagar section of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor.
This is a major achievement, as the Namo Bharat train is now entering Delhi, connecting the Delhi section of the corridor to the already operational Sahibabad-Meerut South section. NCRTC Managing Director Shalabh Goyal and other senior officials were present on this occasion.
In this trial, the Namo Bharat train was run manually to check the civil structure. In this sequence, as this test progresses, NCRTC will conduct a comprehensive evaluation to assess the integration of the train and its coordination with various sub-systems like track, signaling, platform screen door (PSD) and overhead power supply system.
Along with this, extensive trial runs including high-speed tests of the train are also planned in the next few months. The length of the Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar section is about 12 km. Anand Vihar and New Ashok Nagar are the two RRTS stations in this section.
Once this section is operational, Namo Bharat Train service will be available for passengers from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South, after which passengers will be able to reach Meerut South from New Ashok Nagar at high speed in less than 40 minutes.
Anand Vihar RRTS station will be one of the most crowded passenger platforms on the corridor. This station is connected to two metro lines (Blue and Pink), Anand Vihar railway station and two ISBTs, one towards Delhi and the other towards Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh. Due to this, there is a crowd of thousands of passengers here every day.
New Ashok Nagar RRTS station is located less than 100 meters from New Ashok Nagar Metro Station. To integrate these two modes of transport, NCRTC is constructing a foot over bridge (FOB) to connect the concourse level of the metro station to the concourse of the RRTS station.
Additionally, two more FOBs are being constructed to facilitate access to the New Ashok Nagar RRTS station, one towards Chilla Village and Mayur Vihar Extension and the other near the ancient Shiva temple.
Currently, NaMo Bharat train services are operational in the 42 km section from Sahibabad to Meerut South. The section includes a total of nine stations namely Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Duhai Depot, Muradnagar, Modi Nagar South, Modi Nagar North and Meerut South.
With the running of NaMo Bharat train from Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar, the length of the operational section of RRTS will increase to 54 km, with 11 RRTS stations. The Delhi section has three RRTS stations namely New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan. Construction is in the final stages in the section between New Ashok Nagar to Sarai Kale Khan station.
Once the entire 82-km corridor becomes operational by the targeted deadline of June 2025, passengers will be able to travel between Delhi and Meerut in less than an hour.
