NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will inaugurate an additional 13-km section of the Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor between Sahibabad and New Ashok Nagar on Sunday, January 5, 2025.
With this inauguration, Namo Bharat Trains will now arrive in Delhi, ushering in a new chapter of high-speed mobility options for the National Capital. Currently, a 42-km stretch of the corridor between Sahibabad and Meerut South, featuring 9 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.
Starting Sunday at 5 PM, Namo Bharat trains will be available to the public at a frequency of 15 minutes. The fare from New Ashok Nagar Station, the first operational station going from Delhi to Meerut, to Meerut South is Rs 150 for standard coach and Rs 225 for Premium Coach. With the commencement of operations on this section, Meerut city is now directly connected to the national capital, Delhi, through Namo Bharat. This will reduce travel time by one-third, enabling commuters to travel from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South in just under 40 minutes.
#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 13 km stretch of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor between Sahibabad and New Ashok Nagar, worth around Rs 4,600 crore tomorrow on 5 January.
(Visuals of preparations being done outside New Ashok Nagar… pic.twitter.com/M0SJIapZC0
— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2025
To date, Namo Bharat trains have served over 50 lakh commuters, highlighting their popularity and impact. Further construction in other sections i.e. New Ashok Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut South-Modipuram is progressing at a rapid pace.Of the newly inaugurated 13 km section, 6 km is underground and includes a prominent station on the corridor, Anand Vihar. This marks the first time that Namo Bharat Trains will operate in an underground section. The other station on this stretch is an elevated station at New Ashok Nagar. Both stations are located in Delhi.Multi-modal integration has been the tenet of the Namo Bharat project.
In line with the PM Gati Shakti-National Master Plan, it aims to make travel seamless and convenient for passengers, encouraging a modal shift in favour of public transport.Namo Bharat Stations are designed and constructed in a way to be seamlessly connected with existing modes of public transport, such as bus stands, railway stations, and metro stations, wherever possible.
To make this possible, NCRTC faced numerous technical challenges during construction, including complex engineering hurdles, but successfully overcame them to ensure commuter convenience.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. This station has been designed to facilitate Multi-Modal Integration between the existing six modes of public transport in the area.
These include two ISBTs at Swami Vivekananda (Anand Vihar) and Kaushambi, two corridors of Metro (Pink and Blue Line), Anand Vihar Railway Station and the City Bus Stand.
New Ashok Nagar is the first elevated Namo Bharat station to be operational on the Delhi section. Here, the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor crosses the New Ashok Nagar metro station at a height of 20 meters.
Construction at such a height above an already existing and operational metro station, without disrupting service, is a significant achievement from an engineering perspective. This station is being connected to the Blue Line of Delhi Metro through a 90-meter-long FOB.
It is pertinent to note that the Namo Bharat project has been designed with passenger convenience at its core. To ensure accessible and safe access for all sections of the population, special attention has been given to the needs of various demographics, including the elderly, children, disabled, and women. Namo Bharat station premises offer free drinking water and washrooms. CCTV cameras have been installed for 24/7 surveillance in and around the stations. Namo Bharat is a strategic move by the Government to decongest the National Capital, reduce vehicular traffic, and curb air pollution. 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 Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut 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 9 additional stations for the Meerut Metro, making it a comprehensive and transformative regional transit solution.
This inauguration represents a major milestone in India’s journey toward improved public transport and sustainable urban mobility, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to fostering connectivity and reducing environmental impact. (ANI)