New Delhi, January 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the additional 13 kilometre Delhi section of Namo Bharat corridor between Sahibabad and New Ashok Nagar on Sunday, officials said. The inauguration will take place around 11 am and PM Modi will likely to travel from Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar, they said. The passenger operations will commence from 5 pm onwards on Sunday and trains will be available to the public at a frequency of 15 minutes. The fare from New Ashok Nagar station to Meerut South is Rs 150 for standard coach and Rs 225 for premium coach, they said.

Of the newly inaugurated 13 km section, six km is underground and includes a prominent station on the corridor, Anand Vihar. This marks the first time that Namo Bharat trains will operate in an underground section, the officials stated. With this inauguration, Namo Bharat trains will now arrive in Delhi. The Prime Minister inaugurated the 17 km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot on October 20 last year. India Committed to Taking Lead in AI With Focus on Innovation and Creating Opportunities for Youth: PM Narendra Modi.

Currently, a 42-km stretch of the corridor between Sahibabad and Meerut South, featuring nine stations, is operational. With this inauguration, the operational stretch of the Namo Bharat corridor will expand to 55 km, with a total of 11 stations, they said. With the commencement of operations on this section, Meerut city is now directly connected to Delhi. This will reduce travel time by one-third, enabling commuters to travel from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South in just under 40 minutes, the officials said.

To date, Namo Bharat trains have served over 50 lakh commuters. Further construction in other sections -- New Ashok Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut South-Modipuram -- is progressing at a rapid pace, they said. Anand Vihar underground station is one of the largest stations on the Namo Bharat corridor. Commuters will be able to travel from here to Meerut South in just 35 minutes. As a special arrangement for the movement of vehicles and pedestrians at this station, three bridges have been built over the Ghazipur drain. Two of these bridges are to be used for vehicle entry and exit, while one is exclusively for pedestrians, they said.

New Ashok Nagar is the first elevated Namo Bharat station to be operational on the Delhi section. Here, the corridor crosses the New Ashok Nagar metro station at a height of 20 meters. Along with train services, a commercial centre has also been planned at the station for the convenience of commuters. This station is being connected to the Blue Line of Delhi Metro through a 90-meter-long foot over bridge, the officials said. The Namo Bharat project has been designed with passenger convenience at its core. Namo Bharat station premises offer free drinking water and washrooms. PM Modi to Inaugurate, Lay Foundation of Projects Worth Rs 12,200 Crore in Delhi Tomorrow.

One coach in each train is reserved for women, and other coaches also have reserved seats for women, the elderly, and Divyaangjans. Inside the Namo Bharat trains, specific spaces have been provided for wheelchairs and stretchers, they said. A train attendant is available on each train to assist and ensure the convenience of all passengers. Additionally, a panic button has been provided inside the coach and on the platform screen doors to request help in case of an emergency.

Once the entire Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor becomes operational, it is projected to remove over one lakh private vehicles from the roads and reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 lakh tonnes annually. Covering 82 km, the Namo Bharat corridor originates at Sarai Kale Khan in New Delhi and terminates at Modipuram in Meerut. It features 16 Namo Bharat stations along with nine additional stations for the Meerut Metro, making it a comprehensive and transformative regional transit solution.