Ghaziabad:

Commuters on Saturday expressed their pleasure at travelling on India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot. PM Modi inaugurated the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor at Sahibabad RapidX Station in Uttar Pradesh and flagged off the RapidX train connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot, marking the launch of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in the country.

“No matter how much money is spent; time should be saved. Because in the office I have to punch my attendance on time. Looks like a very good facility here. I have been travelling in the metro since 2002 and I have been waiting for this. Women are working here, it is a good thing to promote them,” a passenger told ANI.

Regional Rail, christened RAPIDX, will have an operational speed of 160 km per hour and several features including a women’s coach and a premium coach. RAPIDX will also have a train attendant.

“My route is different but I came here to see what is new. My route which takes one hour is being covered in half an hour. I am very happy about this. Facilities are also good here,” another passenger said.

The passenger operations in the inaugurated section begin on October 21. This section has five stations, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. RAPIDX has a design speed of 180 km per hour and an operational speed of 160 km per hour, officials said, adding that the first corridor will be 82 km long connecting Delhi with Meerut.

A RapidX train will have six coaches with the capacity to carry about 1700 commuters. It includes both seating and standing space for the commuters.

RapidX will have a dedicated women’s coach on every train. To ensure safe and comfortable regional travel for women, the second coach while moving from Delhi to Meerut will be reserved for the women. This reserved coach will have a seating capacity of 72 passengers. An additional 10 seats are also reserved for women in other coaches of the train.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh):

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor and called it a historic moment for the entire country.

Addressing the public after the inauguration of 17 Km priority section, PM Modi said,”This is a historic moment for the entire country. Today the functioning of RRTS corridor have begun also India’s first Rapid Rail services – Namo Bharat train are being dedicated to the nation.”

“Four years back, I laid the foundation stone of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Corridor project. Today, the services of Namo Bharat have started on the stretch from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot. I had said earlier too and I say it today as well – Jiska shilanyaas hum karte hain, uska udghatan bhi hum hi karte hain (What we lay for foundation, we inaugurate it as well,” he added.

PM Modi further stated that Namo Bharat train is a symbol of women empowerment in the country.

“On this new train (Namo Bharat), from driver to the entire crew – they are all women. This is the symbol of growing women empowerment in India,” he said.

Recalling his childhood memories of travelling in train, PM Modi said,” I had the opportunity to experience travel on this ultra-modern train (Namo Bharat). I spent my childhood on the railway platform and today this new form of the railways is filling me with joy. This experience is delightful. We have the tradition of performing auspicious works during Navratri. India’s first Namo Bharat train has received the blessings of Maa Katyayani today.”

The 17 Km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor will connect Sahibabad to ‘Duhai Depot’ with stations at Ghaziabad, Guldhar and Duhai on the way. The foundation stone for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor was laid by the Prime Minister on 8th March 2019.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said,”The success of this project is equivalent to Chandrayan 3. Soon we will have the largest metro network in the world.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “It is a gift to us in Navratri. In the last nine and half years we have witnessed world class infrastructure under your visionary leadership. On the lines of Airport, railway stations are being developed. Vande bharat is the symbol of New India.”

On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off the RapidX train connecting Sahibabad to Duhai depot, marking the launch of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in India. This is India’s first RapidX train which will be known as NaMo Bharat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the priority section of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor at Uttar Pradesh’s Sahibabad RapidX station– a state-of-the-art regional mobility solution aimed to transform regional connectivity in the country through construction of new world class transport infrastructure.

The Prime Minister also flagged off the RapidX train connecting Sahibabad to Duhai depot, marking the launch of RRTS in India. This is India’s first RapidX train which will be known as “Namo Bharat”.

The 17 km priority section of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor will connect Sahibabad to Duhai depot with stations at Ghaziabad, Guldhar and Duhai on the way. The foundation stone for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor was laid by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2019. With the train service operational, the travel time between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot will be 12 minutes, which would usually take around 30-35 minutes by road.

The RRTS project is developed in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to transform regional connectivity in the country through construction of new world class transport infrastructure. The RRTS is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency commuter transit system. 

With a design speed of 180 kmph, RRTS is a transformational, regional development initiative, which is designed to provide high-speed trains for intercity commuting every 15 minutes, which can go up to a frequency of every 5 minutes as per requirement.

The Sahibabad RRTS station from where the Prime Minister flagged off India’s first RapidX train is just 4 km away from the Vaishali Metro Station situated on the Blue line of the Delhi Metro.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)