The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor has carried more than 4.5 crore passengers since its launch, Union Minister Manohar Lal said during an address marking Namo Bharat Day on October 17. He described the regional rapid transit service as a tool for improving connectivity and reshaping the urban future.
According to the minister, the 82-kilometre corridor has made daily travel faster, safer and more convenient for passengers. The line connects Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, linking urban areas whose development, employment opportunities and daily travel patterns extend beyond individual city boundaries.
The passenger figure covers travel since Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the service on October 20, 2023. In his address, Lal presented the ridership milestone as evidence of the role that improved transport infrastructure can play in extending development from one city to another.
The minister said the meaning of Namo Bharat lay in putting the nation first. He linked the service’s regional-connectivity function to wider urban development, arguing that better transport enables people to access new opportunities and supports growth across connected urban areas.
The statement places the corridor within a broader shift from city-only transport planning towards connections between major urban centres. Rather than serving just one municipal area, the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut route operates across the National Capital Region, where travel can involve multiple cities and administrative jurisdictions. The supplied statement, however, did not provide a detailed breakdown of ridership by station, passenger category or time period.
Lal also credited the National Capital Region Transport Corporation, or NCRTC, and its leadership, officials, engineers, technical experts, employees and workers for delivering the project. He congratulated the organisation’s CMD and the wider project team for implementing what he described as an ambitious vision.
The minister’s remarks focus on the corridor’s transport and development benefits, but do not announce a new extension, revised fare structure, additional stations or a fresh implementation deadline. They also do not include operational data on travel-time reductions, service frequency or passenger growth.
For the cities along the corridor, the reported ridership milestone highlights the scale of demand for regional public transport. It also places the performance of the service in the context of how residents move across urban boundaries for work, education and other daily needs. The statement did not specify how the 4.5 crore figure was calculated or identify the period covered by the passenger count beyond the time since the service began operations.
The immediate next step identified in the address is continued operation of the corridor under NCRTC’s management. The minister’s comments were directed towards recognising the project team and its contribution to regional connectivity, with no separate policy or construction announcement reported.
