NCRTC boosted Namo Bharat frequency on the Delhi-Meerut corridor with 47 extra trips run over August 27 and 28 to manage Raksha Bandhan travel.

The additional trips brought train intervals down to eight minutes on both days, well above the corridor’s regular operating pace.

Services ran across the entire route between Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut, expanding options for commuters throughout the corridor.

NCRTC said the frequency boost was designed to help women travelling to meet their brothers for the festival, as well as families travelling together.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor covers roughly 55 kilometres across eleven stations, offering a faster alternative to road travel on the route.

NCRTC has previously run similar special schedules during other major festivals, treating frequency increases as a routine tool for managing predictable demand surges.

The additional trips were particularly aimed at benefiting women travelling to meet their brothers for Raksha Bandhan, as well as families making the journey together.

Regular commuters on the corridor also benefited from the shorter wait times during the two-day window, even outside the specific festival-driven travel demand.

NCRTC publicised the revised timetable in advance through its official channels, giving passengers time to plan their festival travel around the enhanced schedule.

The Namo Bharat service has positioned itself as a faster, more predictable alternative to road travel on the often-congested Delhi-Meerut corridor, particularly during high-traffic festival periods.

The enhanced services covered the entire operational corridor between Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut, giving commuters more frequent options across the full route.

NCRTC said the extra trips were aimed at accommodating the seasonal spike in passenger footfall as families travelled to be together for the festival.

The corridor has been steadily ramping up frequency since its launch, with NCRTC periodically adding services around major festivals and long weekends to manage demand spikes.

Photo of a Namo Bharat RRTS platform, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The National Highways Authority of India has opened a 9-km stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway linking the DND Flyway to Jaitpur for trial runs.

Nearly 8.5 km of the 9-km section is elevated, forming one of the final segments connecting central Delhi to the wider expressway network.

The newly opened stretch is expected to ease travel toward Faridabad and provide more direct, uninterrupted access toward Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is India’s longest expressway project, designed to significantly cut travel time between the two cities once fully operational.

Trial runs typically precede full public opening, allowing authorities to test traffic flow, signage and safety systems before regular commuter access begins.

The stretch’s opening adds to a series of phased rollouts of the expressway that have taken place over the past two years as different sections near completion.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, once fully complete, is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from roughly 24 hours to around 12 hours.

Sections of the expressway connecting Delhi to Jaipur and other stretches further south have already been opened to the public in earlier phases, with the DND-Jaitpur link filling one of the remaining gaps closer to the capital.

The expressway is being built as a greenfield access-controlled corridor, meaning it largely follows a new alignment rather than widening existing roads, which has allowed for higher design speeds along most of its length.

Once the full DND-to-Jaitpur link is opened to the public, commuters heading toward Faridabad and further south are expected to see reduced congestion at some of the more heavily trafficked junctions in the area.

The expressway passes through six states along its full length, making it one of the largest single infrastructure undertakings by the NHAI in recent years.

During a trial-run phase, motorists are typically expected to follow posted speed limits and signage carefully, since final safety features can still be undergoing fine-tuning on newly opened stretches.

Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Two people died and five others were injured when a 22-foot-tall Ganesh idol collapsed during its arrival procession in Mumbai’s Bhuleshwar area on Saturday night.

The incident occurred at Jay Ambe Chowk on Balaram Merchant Road at around 9.50 pm, as the idol was being brought in ahead of this year’s Ganeshotsav festival.

The deceased have been identified as Sanket Nevshe, 33, and Brijesh Hemant Joshi, 30. Five people, including two children, were injured and are being treated at nearby hospitals, with their condition described as stable.

The idol was being transported from Byculla towards Bhuleshwar when it became unbalanced and toppled onto people gathered around the procession.

Preliminary information suggested that loose nuts and bolts in the supporting frame may have contributed to the collapse, with fire officials also pointing to possible faulty welding.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation mobilised fire brigade personnel, police, ambulance services and civic ward staff immediately after the incident, as authorities continue to look into the exact cause.

The incident occurred ahead of this year’s Ganeshotsav festival, one of Mumbai’s biggest annual celebrations, which is scheduled to begin on September 14.

Large, elaborately constructed idols like the one involved in the accident are a common feature of Ganeshotsav arrival processions across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra.

The idol was being transported from Byculla towards Bhuleshwar as part of arrival preparations when it became unbalanced and toppled onto people gathered around the procession.

Preliminary information suggested that loose nuts and bolts in the idol’s supporting frame may have contributed to the collapse, with fire officials also pointing to possible faulty welding.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation mobilised fire brigade personnel, police, ambulance services and civic ward staff immediately after the incident.

The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, with their condition described as stable.

Photo by ninadism, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0