"Delhi-Meerut RRTS Expands to Modi Nagar North, Covering 17 km Route"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked a significant milestone on Wednesday as he flagged off the Namo Bharat train service, connecting Duhai to Modi Nagar North. This inaugural marks the opening of the second 17-kilometer stretch of the ambitious rapid rail plan aimed at linking Meerut to the national capital.

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) announced the extension of operations, covering three stations - Muradnagar, Modi Nagar South, and Modi Nagar North. With the addition of this 17-km section, the Namo Bharat services will seamlessly run along 34 km of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor, spanning eight stations from Sahibabad to Modinagar North.

Equipped with a design speed of 180 kilometers per hour (kmph) and operational speeds reaching up to 160 kmph, the Rs. 30,274 crore corridor is anticipated to be fully operational by 2025, linking Uttar Pradesh's Meerut to Sarai Kale Khan in New Delhi.

Scheduled to commence operations from Friday onwards, the service will run between Sahibabad, inaugurated in October 2023, and Modi Nagar North. NCRTC outlined the operational hours from 06:00 am to 8:00 pm for the entire section, with the first and last trains departing at 6:00 am and 8:00 pm, respectively.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, spanning 82 km, is poised to drastically reduce travel time between Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour, as per the government's estimates.

NCRTC envisions a phased approach in opening small sub-sections of the corridor at intervals of a few months, reflecting the corporation's commitment to gradual expansion and operational efficiency.

The service is expected to alleviate congestion on roadways between the two cities and facilitate urban expansion around the national capital under the government's transit-oriented development (TOD) policy.

BS