Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the country’s first regional rapid transit system (RRTS) — the 82-km Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor developed at the cost of Rs 30,000 crore— which cuts the travel time between the two cities to less than an hour. With 16 stations connecting Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, and Modinagar, among other urban centres, it has become possible to live in Meerut or nearby and commute to Delhi for work for lakhs of people.
“The inauguration of the Meerut Metro, Namo Bharat train, and the new section of the RRTS will make the lives of people in the NCR even simpler, smoother, and more convenient,” PM Modi said.
Earlier, 55 km of the corridor between New Ashok Nagar and Meerut South was open. PM Modi on Sunday inaugurated the 5-km stretch in Delhi (between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar) and the 21-km stretch (between Meerut South and Modipuram) in Uttar Pradesh. He also inaugurated the 23-km-long Meerut Metro line between Meerut South and Modipuram, which will use the same tracks and infrastructure as the semi-high-speed Namo Bharat trains.”For the first time in India, Namo Bharat and Metro rail will run on the same track and station,” the PM said.
“The government’s investment in modern infrastructure—including expressways, freight corridors, and the Jewar International Airport is creating vast employment opportunities. These projects attract new industries and business to the region,” the Prime Minister stated, and added, ”Before 2014, Metro services reached only 5 cities, but now metros are running in more than 25 cities, making India the third-largest network in the world.”
Namo Bharat is a rail-based, high-speed and high-frequency transit system with a design speed of 180 kmph and an average speed of 90 kmph. Stations are located around 10 km away and trains run on frequency of about every 8-10 minutes. Fares range between Rs 20 and Rs 210, while passengers opting for the premium coach will have to pay around 20% more than the standard fare.
Of the total development cost, around Rs. 9,000 crore was received as a loan from the Asian Development Bank, around Rs 4,500 crore each was received from New Development Bank (NDB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Of the remaining 40% of the funding, 20% came from the Centre, 16.78% from the Uttar Pradesh government and 3.22% from Delhi government.
The Delhi-Meerut corridor is the first of several RRTS lines planned to connect parts of the National Capital Region (NCR). The Delhi-Karnal corridor and a portion of the Delhi-Alwar corridor are slated to be approved within this financial year, Shalabh Goel, Managing Director of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) told The Indian Express.
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All of these corridors are planned to converge at Sarai Kale Khan station in Delhi, which was one of the stations inaugurated on Sunday. It is strategically located as a major multi-modal hub, seamlessly connecting Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Delhi Metro’s Pink Line, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT, and Ring Road, the government said.
After Jangpura and Sarai Kale Khan, the train will stop at New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Duhai Depot, Muradnagar, Modi Nagar South, Modi Nagar North, Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul, and Modipuram. The foundation stone for the Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor was laid by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2019.
“It is important that it just does not become a rail system, but connects passengers to different parts of the city. Last mile connectivity should be ensured by city authorities through various ways such as introducing permit systems of shared autos and building good footpaths,” said OP Agarwal, former senior urban transport specialist at The World Bank.
Jagan Shah, CEO of Infravision Foundation, underlined that the multi-modal connections have to be seamless so that the system acquires high volumes of passengers.
