Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the 17-km long priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor at the Sahibabad RapidX Station in Uttar Pradesh. The trains are called ‘NaMo Bharat.’
PM Modi also flagged off a RAPIDX train connecting Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations, marking the launch of the RRTS in India.
The services will begin from October 21 at 6 am for the passengers.The priority section of the RRTS Corridor between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot has five stations: Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot.
The foundation stone for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor was laid by PM Modi on March 8, 2019.
The baggage scanning system at stations of the priority section of the RRTS corridor is said to be equipped with artificial intelligence-powered technology that will alert and help security staff identify restricted or prohibited items, NCRTC officials said.
The RRTS is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency commuter transit system with a design speed of 180 kmph.
“It 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 five minutes according to requirement,” the PMO had said in its statement.
It had noted that a total of eight RRTS corridors have been identified for development in the National Capital Region, out of which three corridors have been prioritised to be implemented in Phase-I — Delhi Ghaziabad Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat.
The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor is being developed at a cost of more than Rs 30,000 crore and will connect Delhi to Meerut with a travel time of less than an hour through urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar and Modinagar, the PMO had said.
In line with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the RRTS network will have extensive multi-modal integration with railway stations, metro stations and bus services.