In a major milestone towards the launch of India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in Delhi, a trial run was held from Sahibabad in Uttar Pradesh towards New Ashok Nagar in Delhi, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) announced on Saturday.

“In a significant step towards implementing India’s first RRTS, NCRTC has commenced trial runs on the Sahibabad-New Ashok Nagar section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor. This marks a major milestone, as the service of the Namo Bharat trains now enters Delhi, bringing the corridor’s Delhi section closer to the already operational section from Sahibabad to Meerut South,” the statement said.

The Namo Bharat train, under the trial, has been operated manually to check the civil structure compatibility.

“As testing advances, NCRTC will carry out comprehensive evaluations to assess the train’s integrated performance and its coordination with various sub-systems such as tracks, signalling, Platform Screen Doors (PSDs), and overhead power supply systems. Extensive trial runs, including high-speed tests, are planned over the next few months,” it said.

This 12-km stretch of the corridor is going to connect Sahibabad RRTS station to New Ashok Nagar RRTS station and will have two more stations – Anand Vihar and New Ashok Nagar. Once operational, it will offer commuters a fast and efficient travel option between New Ashok Nagar and Meerut South RRTS station, reducing the travel time to less than 40 minutes.

The 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 lines, a railway station, and two ISBTs — one on the Delhi side and the other in Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh.

The NCRTC is ensuring the seamless integration of these various transit modes to offer commuters effortless convenience and accessibility, making Anand Vihar RRTS station a model for multi-modal integration.

The New Ashok Nagar RRTS station is located less than 100 meters from the New Ashok Nagar Metro Station. To integrate these two transport modes, NCRTC will provide a footbridge (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 the ancient Shiv Temple for easy access to New Ashok Nagar residents.

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 Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar section, the operational length will increase to 54km 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.

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.