The semi-high-speed 'Namo Bharat' train service on the 17-kilometer priority section of India's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) rail corridor will open to the public on Saturday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor on Friday at its Sahibabad station.
Passenger services on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor will begin on Saturday morning, October 21st. Trains will run from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., with an initial frequency of every 15 minutes. This frequency may be increased in the future, depending on demand.
The entire 82.15 km corridor is scheduled to be operational by June 2025. Once fully operational, the corridor will reduce the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to around 60 minutes, from the current 3-4 hours.
Each 'Namo Bharat' train will have six coaches, including one reserved for women and one premium coach. The women's coach is next to the premium coach. Seats are numbered sequentially. Premium coaches have seats with different colour codes, and a vending machine can be installed in each one.
To enter the premium-class coach, passengers must go through a gated premium lounge on the platform. Each lounge has cushioned seats and a vending machine. The journey from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot stations on this line takes about 12 minutes, according to officials.
A one-way journey from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot station on the priority section of this RRTS corridor will cost Rs 50, while the fare for the same route in a premium-class coach will be Rs 100.
If a passenger enters and exits at the same station, such as Sahibabad station, the fare will be Rs 20. Children below 90 cm tall will travel for free. The NCRTC is responsible for overseeing the construction of India's first RRTS, which will connect Delhi and Meerut.
Passengers can buy paper QR code-based tickets from ticket vending machines (TVMs) or ticket counters at stations. Passengers can also use Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-enabled ticket vending machines to purchase paper QR code-based tickets or recharge their National Common Mobility Cards (NCMC).
Passengers can use cash, bank cards, NCMCs, and UPI to buy tickets from ticket vending machines (TVMs). This priority section will also make it easier for patients to travel, as one general coach in each train will have space for a medical stretcher and a wheelchair. Additionally, some of the lifts at the stations have been extended to provide extra space for a stretcher.
A push-button facility on the doors of the trains will allow passengers to board and get off the train when it halts at a station, the officials said. The Uttar Pradesh government has given the Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF) the responsibility of securing all the stations in the state.
Trains on the RRTS will be known as 'Namo Bharat', as announced by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on the eve of its inauguration. In April, the NCRTC had named RRTS trains as 'RAPIDX'.