E-Paper
PM Modi inaugurates Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor, flags off 'Namo Bharat'
The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor will have a travel time of less than an hour through urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar and Modinagar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor at Sahibabad RapidX Station. He also flagged off the RapidX train connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot, marking the launch of the Regional Rapid Transit System in India. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday announced that RRTS trains will be known as ‘Namo Bharat’.
"The priority corridor of RRTS project related to the aspirations of crores of people is ready to get on track. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate it to the nation on October 20. The Regional Rapid Transit System of the country will be known as 'Namo Bharat'," Puri said in a social media post.
The Indian Railways is already running semi-high-speed trains -- 'Vande Bharat' -- in different parts of the country.
German Ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, who was present at the launch venue, said, “I am very honoured and privileged to be here today...It is a fabulous project, the fastest train in India so far. It's a shuttle train that comes under NCRTC from Meerut to Delhi. It runs at a speed of 160 km/hr. It is run and operated by a German rail company Deutsche Bahn.”
A total of eight RRTS corridors have been identified for development in the National Capital Region (NCR). Out of these, three corridors have been prioritized for implementation in Phase I. These include the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor, the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar Corridor, and the Delhi-Panipat Corridor.
The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS, with a total project cost exceeding ₹30,000 crore, will bridge the gap between Delhi and Meerut in less than an hour, traversing the urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar, and Modinagar.
With a design speed of 180 kilometres per hour, RRTS will provide high-speed intercity commuting trains every 15 minutes, with the flexibility to increase the frequency to as little as every 5 minutes as needed, according to a government release.
The foundation stone for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor was laid by Prime Minister Modi on March 8, 2019.
