SAHIBABAD Oct 20: On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode aboard a “Namo Bharat” train that was operating on the 17-kilometer priority segment of the nation’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) track. To commemorate the opening of the RRTS in India, Modi waved the green flag to the train that ran between the Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations. Trains operating in this corridor have a 180 kmph top speed. At the RRTS station at Sahibabad, the prime minister unveiled a plaque to officially launch the priority section.According to a top National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) official, he also became the first individual to purchase a smart card utilising the UPI payment method in order to enter the concourse. An exhibition was also shown to Prime Minister Modi at the station. Following the flag-off of the first “Namo Bharat” train, Modi got on a train in Sahibabad and proceeded to travel by corridor. He had conversations with the train’s crew and a few students while travelling. The NCRTC official stated, “During the flag off, many students from various Ghaziabad schools were present on the platform, and some other school students were present in the train which the prime minister boarded.”There are five stations in the priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot: Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Sahibabad, and Duhai Depot. The section of the main corridor that leads from Duhai to Duhai Depot is called a spur. According to the official, Prime Minister Modi rode the priority section from Sahibabad to Guldhar and then returned to Sahibabad station, where he got off. When the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is finished, the distance between Delhi and Meerut will be somewhat less than one hour.At the opening ceremony of the Sahibabad station were Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Governor Anandiben Patel of Uttar Pradesh. October 21 will see the opening of India’s first semi-high-speed regional rail service. The trains will include numerous passenger amenities and high-tech features. According to earlier statements from NCRTC officials, the services will start at 6 a.m. and last until 11 p.m.Constructed for the NCRTC’s semi-high-speed regional rail service, the RRTS corridor is a collaborative effort between the Central government and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The first RRTS in India will be built between Delhi and Meerut, and its development will be managed by the NCRTC. By June 2025, the full 82.15 km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS is expected to be operational. Prime Minister Modi lay the foundation stone for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor on March 8, 2019.The RRTS project is being built in accordance with his goal to improve regional connections in the nation through the creation of new, world-class transport infrastructure, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had stated in a statement on Wednesday. With a 180 kmph design speed, the RRTS is a brand-new, high-frequency, semi-high-speed rail-based commuter transport system. The PMO had stated that the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor, which is being created at a cost of more than Rs 30,000 crore, will connect Delhi to Meerut in less than an hour by passing via the urban hubs of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar, and Modinagar.On the eve of the RRTS’s opening, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri declared that the trains will be dubbed “Namo Bharat.” The NCRTC dubbed RRTS trains “RAPIDX” in April, with the goal of revolutionising transit in the area.
