AIIB & DEA delegations take ride in NaMo Bharat trains

Ghaziabad, Nov 11 (IANS) A high-level delegation of Board members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Monday undertook a ride in the first RRTS corridor connecting Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut as part of their 5-day visit to India.

During their journey, the delegation was also accompanied by officials of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) of the Finance Ministry and senior officials of NCRTC.

NCRTC Managing Director Shalabh Goyal welcomed the high-level delegation at the corporate office at Gatishakti Bhawan. The delegation was given a detailed presentation covering the detailed description of the project and various innovative initiatives taken by NCRTC, challenges faced in the implementation of the project etc.

The delegation travelled in the NaMo Bharat train from Sahibabad to Duhai RRTS station, where they experienced the passenger-centric features of NaMo Bharat trains.

Notably, the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is currently operational between Sahibabad RRTS Station and Meerut South RRTS Station.

The foreign delegation praised the NCRTC for paying detailed attention to the diverse needs and convenience of passengers. In particular, they appreciated the women-led growth of NCRTC, given the presence of women in various roles like train operators, station control officers etc.

During the visit, several ground-breaking technologies being adopted for this project were also showcased. The delegation members appreciated the NCRTC team for adopting these innovative technologies including the successful implementation of the latest technologies like ETCS-2 signaling on the LTE backbone for this transformative mobility solution.

The delegates expressed interest in various stakeholder programs organized by NCRTC.

AIIB is one of the primary financing partners for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, having extended a USD 500 million line of credit through the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Notably, the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail is a new semi-high-speed rail service, facilitating short-distance travel between major cities in the country. Designed to connect cities within a 100-250 km radius, the initiative is part of the government's ‘Make in India’ campaign, aiming to boost local manufacturing and infrastructure development.

--IANS

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