PM Modi Flags Off First Namo Bharat Train, Promises High-Speed Rail for North India

Sahibabad (Uttar Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the first Namo Bharat train on a 17-km stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) and declared that similar services will soon link several cities in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Addressing a function here, Modi said that the full 82-km stretch of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS will be completed within the next one and a half year years and expressed confidence that he will be present to inaugurate it.

"Four years ago, I laid the foundation stone of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional corridor project. Today, the services of Namo Bharat trains have started on the stretch from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot. I had said earlier too and I say it today as well that we inaugurate the projects which we start," the prime minister said.

"I will be there at your service when this Delhi-Meerut stretch is completed after a year or a year and a half," Modi said.

The prime minister also launched virtually two stretches of the east-west corridor of the Bengaluru Metro.

The function was attended by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and parliamentarians from western Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar joined the function virtually.

"This is a historic moment as India's first rapid rail service -- Namo Bharat train -- has been flagged off," Modi said, adding that the modern train service will define the journey of a 'new India' and its new resolutions.

The present decade will witness the transformation of railway services in the country, he said and listed initiatives such as the Namo Bharat and the Vande Bharat train services, and upgrading of railway stations under the Amrit Bharat initiative.

Modi said the "trinity of Amrit Bharat, Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat will become a symbol of modern railways by the end of this decade".

"I am not in the habit of small dreams and walking slowly. I want to give a guarantee to the young generation of today that by the end of this decade, Indian trains will be second to none in the world," the prime minister said.

He noted that the drivers as well as support staff of the newly inaugurated Namo Bharat train are women. "Namo Bharat is a symbol of the strengthening women power in the country," Modi said.

The prime minister said the Namo Bharat train provides a "glimpse of India of the future and exemplifies the transformation of the nation with growing economic muscle".

India is making rapid progress in various sectors, including space, and "we will soon send an astronaut in space on the Gaganyaan and also build a space station", Modi said and added that the day is not far off when India will send an astronaut to the moon in its own spacecraft.

On Friday, Modi inaugurated the 17-km priority section of the RRTS corridor between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot that has five stations -- Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. The segment from Duhai to Duhai Depot is a spur from the main corridor.

The entire 82.15 km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS is targeted to be operational by June 2025.

"This 80-km Delhi-Meerut stretch is just the beginning. The first phase will see many areas of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan being connected with Namo Bharat trains soon," the prime minister said.

He added that similar systems will be created in the other parts of the country to improve connectivity and create new avenues of employment.

The Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad and Meerut bus stations, metro stations and railway stations are being connected by the "Namo Bharat system", he said.

A total of eight RRTS corridors have been identified for development in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Out of these, three corridors have been prioritised for implementation in Phase I. These include the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor, the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar Corridor, and the Delhi-Panipat Corridor.