Namo Bharat corridor: Delhi’s largest RRTS station at Sarai Kale Khan to be ready next month
New Delhi: The much-anticipated multi-modal transit hub at Sarai Kale Khan is set to be operational by next month, with the largest station on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor nearing completion. This milestone will pave the way for trial runs in the next fortnight, an official confirmed on Saturday.
The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will have four stations in Delhi, with 3.8 km of the 14-km stretch within the capital running underground. A proposed two-km extension from Sarai Kale Khan to Jangpura is also under consideration.
Once operational, the arrival of Namo Bharat trains at Sarai Kale Khan will integrate four major modes of transport—Indian Railways, Delhi Metro, Inter-State Bus services, and city public transport—within a single complex. A network of pedestrian bridges is being built to ensure seamless connectivity between the RRTS station, Northern Railway’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station, the Metro station, and the Inter-State Bus Terminal.
The 84-km Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor, built at a cost of ₹30,274 crore, aims to cut travel time between Jangpura in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut to just one hour. The corridor is expected to handle a daily ridership of eight lakh passengers, as per estimates from the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
Out of the total stretch, 68 km will be elevated, 13 km underground, and 3 km at grade level. The full corridor is expected to be completed by 2025. Meanwhile, operations on a 55 km stretch are already underway following the inauguration of a 13 km section between Sahibabad and New Ashok Nagar in January this year.
RRTS trains, unlike conventional railway or Metro services, will operate at speeds of over 160 km/h, significantly reducing congestion and improving travel efficiency. Trains will run every 15 minutes, offering high-frequency service.
The fare structure includes:
- New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South: ₹150 (standard coach), ₹225 (premium coach)
- Minimum fare: ₹20 (standard coach), ₹30 (premium coach)
The rapid transit system will provide a comfortable and time-saving alternative for millions of commuters travelling between Delhi and Meerut, reducing travel time to less than 60 minutes.
The RRTS is managed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), a joint venture between the Government of India and the states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In 2022, Germany’s national railway company, Deutsche Bahn (DB), was selected to operate and maintain the corridor for 12 years, with an option to extend for another five years.
Bombardier Transportation, now acquired by French rail giant Alstom, is supplying 210 coaches (30 trainsets with six coaches each) for the RRTS. These trains are being manufactured in Savli, Gujarat.
India’s first RRTS, branded as Namo Bharat, began operations on a 17-km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it on October 20, 2023. The foundation stone for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS project was laid by PM Modi in March 2019.