NaMo Bharat Train: Imagine going from Delhi to Meerut, a journey that usually takes 40 minutes, in just 12 minutes, without any traffic or rush. It’s like a dream come true!
This dream has become a reality with the NaMo Bharat train, India’s own bullet train.
On October 20th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor and flagged off a 17-kilometre RapidX train connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot.
This project costs over Rs. 32,000 crore and will connect Delhi to Meerut in under 60 minutes, passing through the urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar, and Modinagar.
This launch is another milestone for India’s railway sector, providing a faster, safer, and more reliable urban transit system.
The 17-km-long Priority Section also marks the world’s first Level 3 ETCS implementation.
What is Level 3 ETCS?
The ETCS stands for European Train Control System helping make trains safer, work together smoothly, reduce waiting time, and be more efficient.
ETCS also uses Automatic Train Operation (ATO) over Long Term Evolution (LTE) in the future to make the network performance and capacity even better.
What do you need to know more about the Namo Bharta train?
The “Namo Bharat” train renamed from “RapidX”, is India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train. This train is an Indian Electric multiple unit (EMU) train specially designed for RRTS services.
It was designed by the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom at its engineering centre in Hyderabad and manufactured in Savli, Gujarat.
The train has a sleek design that makes it more aerodynamic, which helps it move smoothly. It can go as fast as 180 km/h (110 mph), but it usually runs at 160 km/h (99 mph).
What is RRTS?
Rapid Transit System (RRTS) is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency regional rail service that runs frequently and quite fast compared to normal trains.
The idea is to have trains commuting every 15 minutes, and if needed, they can even run every 5 minutes.
In the NCR, they plan to build 8 RRTS routes, but for now, Phase I will focus only on three of these routes.
The entire 82.15-km RRTS corridor will be fully working by around June 2025, with 24 stations.
What’s interesting about these RapidX trains is that they travel at an average speed of 100 kmph, making them faster than both the Metro and regular Indian Railways trains.
What are its features?
1. It connects the Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations.
2. Opereates on the RRTS corridor between Delhi and Meerut.
3. Offers high-speed intercity trains every 15 mins.
4. Provides amenities like overhead storage, Wi-Fi, and charging options at each seat.
5. Every NaMo Bharat train will have 6 coaches, including a premium coach with extra space and coat hangers.
6. The standard coach has 72 seats, while the premium coach has 62 seats.
7. Seats are reserved for women, specially-abled, and senior citizens.
8. It will have 407 seats arranged in a 2×2 layout, and 1061 passengers can stand inside the train.
How will people benefit from RAPIDX trains?
1. Reduce travel time to less than an hour.
2. Offers a comfortable alternative to road travel.
3. Can take around one lakh passenger vehicles off the roads once fully functional.
4. May help ease pollution issues in Delhi.
5. Will have a significant impact on reducing the traffic congestion on Delhi roads.
The ticket prices are quite affordable, with standard class tickets costing Rs 50 for the priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot, and premium class tickets costing Rs 100, according to NCRTC.
But in all of this, you might have also wondered about the train’s name. Most long-distance trains are named after their destination, special occasions, or something like that. But the name “NaMo Bharat” for this train has sparked controversy.
Controversies over NaMo Bharat Train?
Some political parties criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for renaming not only the train of the RRTS but also a cricket stadium and other public infrastructure projects, calling it “self-obsession.”
In the end, whether you choose to support the name change from “RapidX” to “NaMo Bharat” is a matter of personal choice.
But politics aside, would you like to take this train for your trip from Delhi to Meerut?
Written By Shivani Singh
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