Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) on Friday, calling the Namo Bharat train a glimpse of India’s promising future. Mr. Modi purchased a ticket and took a ride with schoolchildren on the completed 17-km stretch from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot in Uttar Pradesh; the full 82-km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor is scheduled to be functional by 2025.
“The Namo Bharat Train is defining the new journey of new India and its new resolutions. The Delhi-Meerut stretch is just the beginning, as the first phase will see many areas of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan being connected. In the coming days, a similar system will be created in the other parts of the country to improve connectivity and create new avenues of employment,” Mr. Modi said, addressing a gathering after the event.
Pointing out that he had laid the foundation stone of the project four years ago, and had now come back to inaugurate it, Mr. Modi said that his government delivered what it had promised. “The rest of the project will be complete in one and a half years. At that time also, I will be present at your service,” Mr. Modi said, showing confidence that he would return for a third term as Prime Minister.
