Come June, the travel time between Southeast Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh will be reduced to less than an hour.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has begun trial runs of the Namo Bharat train between New Ashok Nagar and Sarai Kale Khan stations on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor, according to an official statement. The stretch will become completely operational by June, said an NCRTC spokesperson.
At present, the Namo Bharat services operate on a 55-km stretch from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South. The Delhi section of the corridor is 14 km long with three stations — Anand Vihar (underground), New Ashok Nagar, and Sarai Kale Khan. Of these, only Sarai Kale Khan station is yet to open to the public.
Sarai Kale Khan is the originating point of the corridor and is being positioned as a major transit hub. According to the NCRTC, the station is planned as a multi-modal interchange and will connect to the Delhi Metro Pink Line, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Veer Haqiqat Rai ISBT, and the Ring Road bus stand.
At present, it takes more than one-and-a-half hours to reach Meerut from Sarai Kale Khan by road.
The first trial run took place on Saturday night with the train moving at a slow speed on the downline to test the signalling system.
The train was operated manually during this initial phase to assess system compatibility, said the NCRTC. The trials will gradually include evaluations of integration with track infrastructure, overhead power supply, and platform screen doors. High-speed trials will follow in the coming weeks, said officials.
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As part of Saturday night’s trial run, the train crossed Yamuna for the first time. NCRTC has constructed a 1.3-km bridge supported by 32 pillars. It runs over the river for a length of 626 metres.
The rest of the bridge spans the floodplain on either side. It runs parallel to the existing Yamuna Bridge.
The train also passed over the Barapullah flyover and the Ring Road to reach Sarai Kale Khan station. NCRTC constructed a viaduct for this purpose, which is part of the 4.5-km stretch that is being tested, said officials.
NCRTC aims to operationalise the full 82-km Delhi-Meerut corridor this year.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd