Namo Bharat Train Reaches Delhi During RRTS Trial Run

New Delhi: The Namo Bharat train has entered Delhi as trial runs on the 12km section from Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor started on Saturday. This stretch passes via Anand Vihar station.
Once operational, it will offer commuters a fast and efficient travel option between New Ashok Nagar and Meerut South RRTS stations, reducing the travel time to less than 40 minutes.
"This marks a major milestone, as Namo Bharat trains are now entering Delhi, bringing the corridor's Delhi section closer to the already operational section from Sahibabad to Meerut South," said an official of National Capital Region Transport Corporation, which is executing the project.
NCRTC MD Shalabh Goel and other senior officers were present on the occasion. The Namo Bharat train was operated manually to check the civil structure compatibility in the trials. "As testing advances, NCRTC will carry out comprehensive evaluations to assess the train's integrated performance and its coordination with various subsystems such as tracks, signalling, platform screen doors, and overhead power supply systems. Extensive trial runs, including high-speed tests, are planned over the next few months," said another official of NCRTC.
Anand Vihar RRTS station is expected to become one of the busiest commuter transit hubs, with significant daily footfall due to its proximity to a metro station serving two metro lines, a railway station, and two ISBTs—one on the Delhi side and the other at Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh.
TOI had reported that the seamless integration of Anand Vihar RRTS station with these various transit modes has been ensured to offer commuters effortless convenience and accessibility.
The New Ashok Nagar RRTS station is located less than 100 metres from the New Ashok Nagar metro station. To integrate these two transport modes, NCRTC will provide a foot overbridge (FOB) connecting the concourse level of the metro station to the concourse of the RRTS station. Additionally, two more FOBs will enhance accessibility at the New Ashok Nagar RRTS station—one connecting Chilla Village and Mayur Vihar Extension, and the other near Ancient Shiva Temple for easy access to New Ashok Nagar residents. All these will provide easy access to the residents of New Ashok Nagar.
Currently, Namo Bharat train services operate over a 42 km stretch from Sahibabad to Meerut South, covering nine stations—Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Duhai Depot, Muradnagar, Modi Nagar South, Modi Nagar North and Meerut South. With the operationalisation of the Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar section, the operational length will increase to 54 km with 11 RRTS stations.
The Delhi section has three stations—New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station. The work on the rest of the section from New Ashok Nagar to Sarai Kale Khan station is in the final stage of construction, and track laying activities are in progress. However, the fourth station, Jangpura, which will be developed along with a stabling yard, will come up later.
"Once the entire 82 km corridor is completed by the targeted deadline of June 2025, passengers will be able to travel between Delhi and Meerut in less than an hour," said an official.