Ghaziabad: With non-BS-VI vehicles registered outside Delhi barred from entering the capital amid deteriorating air quality, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has decided to operate eight additional rapid rail trains from Nov 16 to ease commuting between Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut.The fast trains with limited stops will cover the distance from Anand Vihar to Begumpul in 36 minutes, compared with 45 minutes that regular trains take. At nine minutes, the biggest time saving is on the Ghaziabad-Begumpul stretch. While regular trains complete the Ghaziabad-Begumpul journey in 37 minutes, fast trains will take just 28 minutes. The entire corridor from Sarai Kale Khan to Modipuram depot will be covered in less than 50 minutes, compared with the 64 minutes that regular trains take.“In the morning peak hour, two fast trains will depart from Sarai Kale Khan and Modipuram at 8 am and 8.30 am. In the evening, two fast trains will again leave Sarai Kale Khan and Modipuram at 6 pm and 6.30 pm in each direction. The fast trains will stop at only five stations, including Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad, Begumpul and Modipuram,” an NCRTC official said.Passengers for the remaining stations — New Ashok Nagar, Sahibabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Muradnagar, Modinagar South, Modinagar North and Meerut South — will have to use the regular services, which continue to run every 10 minutes.The Namo Bharat corridor has recorded a daily average footfall of 1.1 lakh and recently crossed the milestone of five crore commuter journeys. NCRTC officials said over the past three months the corridor has seen an average monthly ridership of more than 32 lakh.“The enhanced peak-hour connectivity is aimed at shaving crucial minutes off daily commutes, particularly benefiting students and office-goers who depend on reliable, high-speed transit to reach their educational institutions and workplaces on time,” the official said.
