Taking a significant step towards operationalising the entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation commenced trial runs up to Modipuram — the final station towards Meerut — on 1st May 2025. This marks a historic moment, as it is the first time a Namo Bharat train has traversed through the underground section of Meerut, a key development in connecting the city’s inner areas to the national capital through high-speed rail.
Previous Trial Runs and New Milestone
Until now, trial runs had been ongoing on two separate stretches at both ends of the corridor: New Ashok Nagar to Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut South to Shatabdi Nagar. With today’s milestone, Namo Bharat trains are now running on tracks along the entire length of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor. This marks a major achievement for NCRTC in advancing India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
Route and Technical Trials
During the trial run, the train was operated from Shatabdi Nagar to Modipuram, passing through the important underground station at Begumpul. To begin with, trains will be manually operated to test compatibility between the rolling stock and civil infrastructure. NCRTC will later conduct thorough evaluations to assess how well the trains integrate with various subsystems, including the track, platform screen doors (PSDS), and overhead power systems. In the coming days, high-speed trial runs reaching up to the design speed of 180 kmph are also planned.
Meerut Underground Section Details
Heading from Delhi towards Meerut, the first underground station in the Meerut segment is Meerut Central, located near Football Chowk. This is followed by two more underground stations — Bhaisali and Begumpul. Of these, only Begumpul will serve both Namo Bharat and the Meerut Metro; the other two are exclusive to the Metro. The corridor transitions back to an elevated line at Tank Chowk near Begumpul, continuing through MES Colony, Daurli, Meerut North, and finally Modipuram. Of these, only Modipuram will serve Namo Bharat trains, with the rest being Metro-exclusive stations.
Meerut Metro Integration
Parallel to Namo Bharat developments, trial runs of the Meerut Metro are also underway between Meerut South and Meerut Central. This is the first instance in India where a regional rapid rail (Namo Bharat) and a local metro system will share the same infrastructure. The 23-km Meerut Metro corridor comprises 18 km of elevated tracks and 5 km of underground sections, with 13 stations — three of which are underground.
In Meerut, Namo Bharat and Metro services will be jointly available at Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul (underground), and Modipuram stations. These are being developed as major multimodal transit hubs, offering seamless access to autos, taxis, and buses alongside high-speed rail and metro connectivity.
Operational Route of Delhi Ghaziabad Meerut Corridor
Currently, Namo Bharat services are operational along a 55-km stretch between New Ashok Nagar and Meerut South. This segment includes eleven stations: New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Duhai Depot, Muradnagar, Modi Nagar South, Modi Nagar North, and Meerut South. Once the full 82-km corridor is complete, travel time between Delhi and Meerut will be reduced to just 55 minutes. The corridor is on track to be completed within the scheduled timeline later this year.
