The 13km Delhi section of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS will also have an underground station at Anand Vihar. Officials aware of the matter said that the work on the station is in its final stages and is awaiting safety approvals from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).

Ghaziabad: Over 5 million (50 lakh) commuters have so far used the Uttar Pradesh section of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS (Namo Bharat) train services. The first section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) was launched in October 2023. On Wednesday, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) officials said that they are expecting the ridership to surge further once the 42km section of the RRTS in UP gets linked to the 13km section from Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar in Delhi.

Officials aware of the matter said the 13km section of RRTS in Delhi will also have an underground station at Anand Vihar. They added that the work on the station is in its final stages and is awaiting safety approvals from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). The CMRS and teams have visited the site and fine tuning of processes is currently underway. In addition to this, the Delhi section of the RRTS will also see the launch of the first tunnel between Sahibabad and Anand Vihar. The Anand Vihar RRTS station will be the first underground station.

Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Cost, total length, stops, speed

The Delhi-Meerut RRTS project is being built at an estimated expenditure of Rs 30,274 crore. The Namo Bharat trains have a design speed of 180 kmph and can cover a distance of 100 km in about an hour. The RRTS network, spanning 82 kms, is meant to link three key cities of NCR – Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The entire stretch from Delhi to Meerut is scheduled to be ready by June 2025. Once operational, the Delhi-Meerut RRTS will cater to around eight lakh passengers daily.

“The safety inspections are in final stages. Our teams are working to ensure that the section connecting Ghaziabad to Delhi gets operational soon. The work is in advanced stages,” said Puneet Vats, chief PRO of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).

Delhi-Meerut RRTS: 42 kms of total 82 kms stretch operational

The NCRTC has operationalised the 42 km Ghaziabad to Meerut section of the RRTS in a phased manner. At first, the Sahibabad to Duhai depot section, spanning 17 km, was made launched on October 23, 2023. Additional 17 km section in Ghaziabad from Duhai to Modinagar (north) started operations on March 6, 2024. The third section from Modinagar (north) to Meerut (south) started commercial operations on August 18, 2024.

Officials said that the average daily ridership of Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS was around 10,000-12,000 passengers a day when the first section was opened. It surged to 17,000-18,000 per day when the second section was launched.

An NCRTC official said, “The ridership increased to about 24,000-25,000 per day when the third section was opened and commuters got connectivity between Ghaziabad and Meerut. Once the section in Delhi gets connected to UP, we expect a further surge in ridership. With nine stations on the present 42km operational route, commuters are travelling in about 30 minutes from Meerut (south) to Sahibabad.”

The remaining sections of the RRTS, from New Ashok Nagar to Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, and from Meerut (south) to Modipuram, are likely to get fully operational by June 2025. As per latest update, the RRTS services are also proposed to link Ghaziabad to the upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar.