Ghaziabad: The Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor recorded its highest-ever daily ridership Monday, with over 1.5 lakh passengers using the service. The previous record of around 1.3 lakh was set on June 8. NCRTC officials attributed the surge to kanwar yatra and the addition of 52 daily trips from July 30.“The ridership figure for Tuesday will come after 10pm, but the trends so far clearly show that there has been a manifold increase in the ridership on Aug 4 as well,” an NCRTC official said. “Ghaziabad, Anand Vihar and Begumpul stations are the busiest ones in the corridor. Ghaziabad, with more than 20,000 passengers, has marked the highest footfall.”Three routes are used by the pilgrims from neighbouring UP districts and Delhi to reach Haridwar, from where they collect Ganga water in their kanwars for the annual yatra. Pilgrims travelling on foot largely use the Pipeline Road between Loni border and Niwari, while a significant number take the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and NH-34 via GT Road. Combined, the three routes span 150 km in Ghaziabad.DME will become out of bounds for light and medium vehicles from 8am on Aug 7 till Shivratri on Aug 12. Traffic restrictions on major roads have led to congestion and unpredictable travel times.NCRTC is operating 52 additional daily train trips on the Namo Bharat corridor from July 30 to Aug 14. Trains are now available every eight minutes. These trips are being operated between Sarai Kale Khan and Modipuram. “If required, NCRTC may further increase the frequency of train services to deal with the kanwar rush,” the official added.Commuters believe that the rapid rail has eased travel for them during kanwar yatra. “Every year, despite dedicated lanes created for kanwariyas, there are disputes between the pilgrims and commuters,” a Chaudhary Charan Singh University professor, Sanjay Mishra, said. “Last year my neighbour’s car was vandalised after it brushed against a kanwariya. The rapid rail, this year, is offering a much safer and quicker way to travel.”Another commuter, Shivangi, said, “The increase in the number of trips has benefitted office-goers. I don’t have to remain stuck in a road jam-packed with Kanwariyas all the way to Meerut now.” The 82-km journey on Namo Bharat from Sarai Kale Khan to Modipuram takes about 40 minutes at an average speed of 120 km per hour.
