India’s first semi high-speed regional rail services named ‘RAPIDX’

PTI, Apr 11, 2023, 9:06 PM IST

Image credit: Twitter / @officialncrtc

New Delhi: India’s first semi-high-speed regional rail services have been named ‘RAPIDX’ by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), officials said on Tuesday.

The trains will run on the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors, being implemented to connect key urban nodes across the National Capital Region (NCR), they said.

The brand name has been chosen as ‘RAPIDX’ since it is easy to read and simple to pronounce in various languages.

”In addition to signifying speed and progress, the X in the name denotes next generation technology and the new-age mobility solution. It also represents youth, optimism, and energy,” NCRTC officials said.

The green leaf symbol in the logo is the highlight of the brand’s aim towards decarbonisation by not only decongesting NCR by reducing the number of vehicles on the road but also by the use of green energy.

A joint venture company of the Union government and states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the NCRTC is tapping green energy by the installation of solar panels on stations and depots as well as the use of blended power in traction which is planned to be increased progressively. According to the NCRTC, ‘RAPIDX’ will connect the people who choose to live in their hometowns in NCR, with the national capital through a modern, sustainable, convenient, fast, safe and comfortable means of travel.

”For the youth in NCR, RAPIDX will provide easier and faster access to a world of opportunities leading them towards their aspirations,” it said.

The RAPIDX services on the first Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor will bring down the travel time between Delhi to Meerut significantly.

The NCRTC is targeting to commission the entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor for the public by 2025.

Before that, it will operationalise a 17-km long priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai in 2023, before its scheduled time, they added.