NEW DELHI: The Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat corridor has recorded more than five crore passenger journeys since the commencement of operations in October 2023, with the latest one crore journeys added in just 93 days, according to the official records shared by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) on Wednesday.
The milestone comes nine months after the entire 82-km corridor, connecting Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut, was opened for public use on February 22 this year. The Sarai Kale Khan station, which serves as the originating point of the corridor, was also opened to commuters on the same day, completing the Delhi section of the network.
The corridor began operations on October 21, 2023, with the inauguration of the 17-km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot. It took 574 days to record its first one crore journeys, on May 16 last year.
The subsequent milestones were achieved at shorter intervals, with the corridor crossing the two-crore mark on December 11, 2025, three crore on May 2 this year, and, later, four crore on August 10. The latest one crore journeys were recorded between August 10 and November 10—the shortest interval between two successive milestones.
The corridor recorded 35.25 lakh passenger journeys in August, with an average daily ridership of 1.13 lakh. The highest single-day ridership of 1,68,666 journeys was registered on August 28. September saw 32.41 lakh journeys, while October recorded 33.49 lakh.
The 82.15-km corridor has 16 stations and connects Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. Its expansion has also brought additional interchange options for commuters travelling through the National Capital Region, with connectivity to the Delhi Metro, Indian Railways, interstate bus terminals and city bus services.
The network also introduced the integration of Namo Bharat and Meerut Metro services on shared infrastructure, with both services operationalised on February 22.
The NCRTC has attributed the increase in ridership to improved regional connectivity and the availability of an alternative to road-based travel. The trains have an operational speed of up to 160 kmph.
Opened on Feb 22
The milestone comes nine months after the entire 82-km corridor, connecting Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut, was opened for public use on February 22 this year