Modi flags off country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System ‘Namo Bharat’

The Centre on Friday inaugurated a 17-kilometre priority section of the country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor service between Delhi and Meerut, being built at a cost of Rs 30,000 crore.

The ‘Namo Bharat’ train service, earlier called RapidX, connects Sahibabad and Duhai Depot in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while flagging off the RRTS service, said more such corridors will be launched in India in the coming years.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS, the foundation stone for which was laid in March 2019, aims to bring down the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour. It will be covering the urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar, and Modinagar.

The train has five standard coaches, including one reserved for women and one premium coach.

Standard coach fares will range between Rs 20 and Rs 50, while a premium ticket will cost between Rs 40 and Rs 100, varying according to the distance.

The entire corridor is expected to be operational by 2024-2025, Modi said, while making a point about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.