A historic moment for the nation, the PM declares as he flags off India’s first RRTS train

The first phase of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, would connect districts across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

After setting off the first Namo Bharat train on the priority part of the 82-km Delhi-Meerut RRTS here, Modi spoke at the event. When this project is finished in its entirety in the next 12 to 18 months, he said that he would be at the people’s service.

The first phase runs a 17-kilometer span on the outskirts of the city from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot.

The nation’s two metro train lines in Bengaluru were also dedicated by the prime minister via video conference.

“This is a historic moment as India’s first rapid rail service — Namo Bharat train — has been flagged off,” the prime minister declared in the presence of the governors of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, Siddaramaiah (via virtual mode), and Karnataka, as well as Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

“In the first phase of the RRTS, Namo Bharat trains will link several parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan,” Modi said.

He predicted that the whole 82 kilometers between Delhi and Meerut would be finished in the next one to one and a half years.

“I lay the cornerstone for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional corridor project four years ago. Namo Bharat train services have begun today on the section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot. We inaugurate the projects that we start, as I have said and will again today, he continued.

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