New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated a 13-km section of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, marking the arrival of Namo Bharat trains in the national capital.
The Rs 4,600 crore corridor connects Sahibabad RRTS station with New Ashok Nagar RRTS station.
With this, the 55-km RRTS corridor with 11 stations, is now operational, reducing the travel time between New Ashok Nagar and Meerut South to less than 40 minutes. The 17-km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot was inaugurated on October 20 last year.
The passenger services will begin at 5 pm, with trains running every 15 minutes. The fare for a one-way ride from New Ashok Nagar to Meerut South is Rs 150 for the standard coach and Rs 225 for the premium coach. From Anand Vihar to Meerut South, the fare for standard and premium coaches is Rs 130 and Rs 195 respectively.
The total length of this RRTS corridor from Delhi to Meerut is 84 km (68 km elevated, 13 km underground and 3 km at grade) and it is being built at a cost of Rs 30,274 crore. It will reduce the travel time between Jangpura in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut to one hour. The entire stretch from Delhi to Modipuram with 25 stations is expected to become operational in 2025.
Besides the 13-km stretch of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor, the PM also inaugurated the 2.8 km stretch between Janakpuri and Krishna Park of Delhi Metro Phase-IV worth around Rs 1,200 crore and foundation stone of the 26.5 km Rithala – Kundli section of Delhi Metro Phase-IV, worth around Rs 6,230 crore.
Modi then accused the AAP government of wasting 10 years of Delhi’s progress.
Symbol of AAP’s work for people
Addressing a press briefing later in the day, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal called the inauguration a joint venture between Delhi government and the Centre, underscoring the party’s commitment to the city’s development.
“Today, the first phase of RRTS, connecting Sahibabad with New Ashok Nagar was inaugurated along with Delhi metro’s new line connecting Krishna Park with Janakpuri West, and the foundation stone was laid for a new metro line connecting Rithala with Kundli. I congratulate the people of Delhi. Those who accuse AAP of always being confrontational, this joint inauguration is a response to them,” he said.
Kejriwal further stressed that AAP leaders never took the injustices done to them to heart. “We all have just been released from jail in August and September. However, we did not make the atrocities we suffered the main issue. If we had taken the injustices personally, then today the Delhi Metro line wouldn’t have been built, and today’s inauguration wouldn’t have happened. If we had made the injustices the issue, then today the RRTS line wouldn’t have been built, and RRTS inauguration wouldn’t have taken place. Today’s inauguration is only happening because after coming out of jail, we said that no matter what, whatever atrocities are committed against us, the work of Delhi should not stop, the Delhi Metro should not stop, the RRTS should not stop under any circumstances…” he told the presser.
The AAP chief then alleged that the BJP was seeking votes for Delhi elections by abusing him. “Today, the PM spoke for 30 minutes and he kept abusing the people of Delhi and the elected government of Delhi – I was listening to it, it felt bad.” he said.
He added that people of Delhi are still waiting for Modi to fulfil the promises he made ahead of 2020 Assembly polls. “I want to remind the PM of the promises made in the 2020 ‘Sankalp Patra’. The people of rural Delhi are still waiting for them to be fulfilled. He promised before the 2020 assembly elections that Sections 81 and 33 of the Delhi Land Reforms Act would be abolished. Only the Centre can do this. The Delhi assembly passed a resolution on this not once but twice and sent it to the Centre many years ago,” he said.
