No limit to his self-obsession: Congress targets PM Modi over naming of RRTS trains as 'Namo Bharat'
New Delhi (PTI): Trains of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, will be known as 'Namo Bharat', Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Thursday.
The 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor is slated to be opened for passengers on October 21, a day after its inauguration.
In April, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is implementing India's first semi-high-speed regional rail service project, had named RRTS trains as 'RAPIDX'.
In a post on X in Hindi, the Union housing and urban affairs minister announced that RRTS trains will be known as 'Namo Bharat'.
"The priority corridor of RRTS project related to the aspirations of crores of people is ready to get on track. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate it to the nation on October 20. The Regional Rapid Transit System of the country will be known as 'Namo Bharat'," he said.
The Indian Railways is already running semi-high-speed trains -- 'Vande Bharat' -- in different parts of the country.
In another post, Puri said, "Indigenously manufactured with a designed speed potential of 180 kmph and operational speed potential of 160 kmph, the fully air-conditioned, safe and comfortable train will take less than an hour to cover 82 kms between Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut."
"Inauguration of the country's first Regional Rapid Train #NamoBharat between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 October, 2023, will mark the beginning of a new era of state-of-the-art ultra modern urban commute in the country," the Union minister said on X.
The priority section of the RRTS Corridor between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot has five stations -- Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot.
The foundation stone for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor was laid by Prime Minister Modi on March 8, 2019.
In line with his vision to transform regional connectivity in the country through construction of new world-class transport infrastructure, the RRTS project is being developed, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had said in a statement on Wednesday.
The RRTS is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency commuter transit system with a design speed of 180 kmph.
It is a "transformational" regional development initiative, which is designed to provide high-speed trains for intercity commuting every 15 minutes, which can go up to a frequency of every five minutes according to requirement, the PMO had said.
It had noted that a total of eight RRTS corridors have been identified for development in the National Capital Region, out of which three corridors have been prioritised to be implemented in Phase-I -- Delhi Ghaziabad Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat.
The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor is being developed at a cost of more than Rs 30,000 crore and will connect Delhi to Meerut with a travel time of less than an hour through urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar and Modinagar, the PMO had said.
The RRTS is a state-of-the-art regional mobility solution and is comparable to the best in the world, it had said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
