Delhi-Meerut Metro: RRTS stations, route and latest updates

Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (Delhi–Meerut RRTS), informally known as Rapid Rail,[16][17] is an 82.15 km (51.05 mi)-long semi high-speed rail regional transit corridor that connects the cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut in the National Capital Region.[ It is the first of the four rapid rail routes planned in the first phase of the Namo Bharat project being implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). It has a design speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) and employs the Namo Bharat (trainset) designed by French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom at its Hyderabad, Telangana engineering unit and produced in Savli, Gujarat.[2] The train is aerodynamically designed to reduce drag during travel and can reach speeds of up to 160 km/h (99 mph). It can cover the distance from Delhi to Meerut in under 60 minutes. The project has been developed at a cost of US$3.2 billion (₹30,274 crore). The corridor from Jangpura will pass through Sarai Kale Khan, which will be the termination point for the three planned corridors in Delhi, and end at Modipuram in Meerut. It has 16 stations and two depots at Duhai and Modipuram.

Construction work on the Delhi–Meerut RRTS commenced in June 2019. Originally, it was scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2024, but the system had a series of delays and was only partially operational from October 2023 to February 2026.

It has been rolled out in phases, beginning with a 17km priority corridor between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot that opened months behind schedule.Extensions to Modinagar North (6 March 2024), Meerut South (18 August 2024) and New Ashok Nagar (5 January 2025), which had initially been scheduled for earlier dates in 2024 and 2025, likewise missed their respective deadlines by several months. Consequently, the whole 82.15 km corridor from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut did not meet three successive dates for full operationalization.

The civil works, testing and trial runs were completed by October 2025, while the remaining lengths were closed till February 2026. Earlier officials said the entire operation would start only after it is formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India.The corridor is operated by DB RRTS Operations India, a division of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn. RRTS became the first regional transit system of India on inauguration and is also tagged as the quickest rapid transit train of the country with an operational speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). 

Context

The Planning Commission constituted a task force in 2005 under the Chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, to develop a multi-modal regional transit system for the NCR. The burgeoning population, traffic, congestion, pollution and risk of accidents and mishaps in the National Capital Region, necessitated the need for a multi-modal regional transit system. This was part of the Integrated Transport Plan for NCR 2032, with a special focus on a Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) linking regional cities. In 2013, the Government of India and the Government of Delhi took a decision to design a master plan for the development of a regional railway which would directly connect Delhi with the bordering towns and regions of the NCR and beyond. Hence, it was decided to set up the National Capital Region Transport Corporation in July 2013 as a joint venture of the Government of India and the governments of the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of this organisation is to lessen the dependence of commuters on road based transportation and improve regional connectivity within NCR and beyond and develop, own and operate the Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS). The RRTS systems would be mostly underground in Delhi and will connect with the Delhi Metro and will give the passengers a choice of speedier way as a last mile connectivity way to reach their respective destination. They will be similar to other regional transit systems in the world as London’s Crossrail, Paris’ RER, and Munich’s S-Bahn. Originally, eight routes of no less than 1,000 km (620 mi) were scheduled to be implemented, then increased to nine. Of the nine, four corridors are to be implemented in the next few years: Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Alwar, Delhi-Panipat and Ghaziabad-Jewar corridors. The Delhi–Meerut corridor was selected to be created first because of high frequency of travellers and traffic between Delhi and Meerut. The Government of India, respective state governments and the NCRTC appointed feasibility studies and then approved the corridor's construction.

History

The feasibility study and comprehensive project report provided by National Capital Region Transport Corporation was authorized by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in May 2017. The Government of India approved the project implementation in February 2019, and also granted finance of ₹30,274 crore (US$3.2 billion). The foundation stone of the route and Meerut Metro project was placed on 8 March 2019. Construction for both the projects began in June 2019.[35] The metro has been extended along the RRTS line in Meerut for local connectivity across 21 km (13.0 mi). The NCRTC had intended to commence regular operations on the 17 km (10.6 mi) long priority segment from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot by March 2023.[37] But the project was delayed due to work pending at several of the stations, especially Ghaziabad. It was hence inaugurated and launched on 20th October 2023.[8] In July 2022, the NCRTC awarded Deutsche Bahn, the national railway operator of Germany, to run and maintain the corridor for 12 years with an option for another 5 years as part of the contract. So following the opening of the corridor, the business launched a new subsidiary called DB RRTS Operations India.The NCRTC named the service provider as RapidX and the trains as Namo Bharat. 

In December 2023, NCRTC announced that an additional 25 km (15.5 mi) segment from the Duhai Depot to Meerut South will probably be opened by March 2024 after successful trial runs, increasing the operating length to around 42 km (26.1 mi).[41] The section was subsequently extended to Modinagar North on March 6, 2024, Meerut South on August 18, 2024, and New Ashok Nagar on January 5, 2025, the operating length increasing to approximately 34 km (21.1 mi), 42 km (26.1 mi) and eventually 55 km (34.2 mi).[42][10][11] The remaining stretch from Sarai Kale Khan to New Ashok Nagar over the Yamuna river was completed by June 2025; it is 16.6 km (10.3 mi) long.

NCRTC decided to develop a station at Jangpura, Delhi for the ending station of the route in November 2021. The original concept was to set up a stabling yard and operations control centre at Sarai Kale Khan and manage from there the three pathways emanating from it. However, the Jangpura station was constructed to provide connectivity to the RRTS to people of Jangpura and surrounding regions, especially so because of the congestion along Mathura Road. The total number of stations in the corridor is 16. The station will be at grade and is likely to be constructed and operational after the remainder of the route.[26] The rest of the corridor to Modipuram is likely to be operational by July 2025.

Route

Of the total length, 68.03 km (42.27 mi) is raised, 14.12 km (8.77 km) is subterranean and the remaining 1.45 km (0.90 mi) section is at-grade for connections to two depots, located at Duhai and Modipuram.22 In the congested suburbs of Delhi and Meerut, the line is underground.The entire line is built for a maximum speed of 180 km/h (112 mph) at a service speed of 160 km/h (99 mph).  Average speeds are close to 100 km/h (62 mph).

The corridor is proposed to start at Jangpura, but currently it starts from the Sarai Kale Khan station, as the station at Jangpura is still to be built. Sarai Kale Khan is the terminal station of all the corridors planned in the region. The corridor traverses several suburbs of Delhi and Ghaziabad and terminates at Modipuram in Meerut. The Sarai Kale Khan station is the largest of all stations with three storeys, six platforms and six tracks to cater the three corridors to Meerut, Panipat and Alwar. It is a terminal and location specific multi-modal transport hub with direct connectivity to the adjoining transport systems and facilities in its vicinity like Sarai Kale Khan-Nizamuddin metro station of Delhi Metro, Sarai Kale Khan Inter-State Bus Terminus and the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station.

The Anand Vihar station of the corridor holds similar strategic importance due to its proximity to the Anand Vihar Terminal railway station, while the Ghaziabad station is another connectivity hub with three more proposed corridors: Ghaziabad–Jewar, Ghaziabad–Bulandshahr–Khurja and Ghaziabad–Hapur.

Since January 2025, just a short corridor (55 km (34.18 mi)-long) from New Ashok Nagar in Delhi to Meerut South portion was operating. The Sarai Kale Khan to New Ashok Nagar stretch saw repeated delays,[43] and was opened in February 2026; with this, the full corridor became operational.

Construction

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation has split the civil construction work of the RRTS project into eight packages and 30 packages for all stations, ramps, tunnel sections and technical facilities, including 16 stations and two depots. Out of these eight packages, two packages of Meerut sector are also a part of Meerut Metro project. The complete list of all packages, contractors and statuses is as follows:

Package-1 and Package-2 are part of the priority portion of the RRTS while Package-7 and Package-8 are part of Meerut Metro.

The project's foundation stone was placed in March 2019 and building started in June 2019. But it took longer beyond the scheduled time due to extra work coming up at several stations especially Ghaziabad," said a railway official. It was finally opened on 20 October 2023. The entire route from Sarai Kale Khan to Meerut, which was supposed to be operational by September 2025, has started functioning only from February 2026.

The length of the corridor in operation was gradually increased. It was extended to Modinagar North from Duhai Depot on 6 March 2024. Total length is roughly 34 km (21.13 miles)). It was extended to Meerut South on 18 August 2024, making its operational length about 42 km (26.10 miles). On 5 January 2025, the corridor was extended to New Ashok Nagar, and the entire length of the operational corridor became about 55 km (34.18 miles). On 22 February 2026, the corridor was extended to Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh, thus reaching to its fully-planned length of 82.15 km (51.05 miles)

Stations

The RRTS corridor will commence at Jangpura where work is in progress and will pass via Sarai Kale Khan. Both the stations are in Delhi. It then passes through Ghaziabad, where three further corridors to Jewar, Hapur and Khurja have been proposed to link the adjacent towns and cities of Uttar Pradesh with the National Capital Region, before terminating at Meerut. There are 16 stations in the corridor of which 9 stations will be extra stations which will be intermediate stops for Meerut Metro where RapidX services will not stop. However, some stations such as Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram have integration of RRTS and Meerut Metro, and stoppage for both services is permitted. Currently, the route includes 15 operational stations and one depot, with Jangpura station under development. The stations’ exterior designs are based on the color of the feathers of the peacock, the national bird of India.61. The list below details the stations, their integration with existing transit modes and their state.

Funding source

Multilateral Funding: The Asian Development Bank provided a loan of $1 billion, the New Development Bank provided a loan of $500 million and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank provided a loan of $500 million to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation for the building of the RRTS.

Government Contributions: Government of India : 20 % Government of Delhi : 3.22 % Government of Uttar Pradesh : 16.78 %

Updates 

August 2023: Tunneling work of RRTS is totally completed.

20 October 2023: Inauguration of priority corridor between Sahibabad and Duhai.

Dec 2023: Trial run on 25-km stretch from Duhai to Meerut South was done.

February 2024: NCRTC said the 25 km link between Duhai and Meerut South will be operational by March 2024, taking the total operational stretch to 42 km. Both the RRTS and Meerut Metro projects are expected to be finished by June 2025.

Mar 2024: The 17-km-long stretch up to Modinagar North of the 25-km-long line from Duhai Depot to Meerut South was opened on 6 March 2024 and the operating length was at 34 km at present. Meerut South station to be finished in May 2024 (1st part).

Aug 2024: 25 km long from Duhai Depot to Meerut South, 8 km segment from Modinagar North to Meerut South opened on August 18, 2024. The overall length of the corridor is 82 Km out of which more than 80 km has been built and the portion from Sahibabad till Sarai Kale Khan is on pace to be completed by December 2024.

Jan 2025: 13 km segment between Sahibabad and New Ashok Nagar inaugurated on 5 January 2025 connecting Delhi with the corridor.May 2025: NCRTC has finished installation of all 169 track km (TKM) of precast slab track.

22 February 2026 – Entire section of RRTS from Sarai Kale Khan to Modipuram becomes operational.