NewsBytes

At 160 kmph, Namo Bharat on Delhi-Meerut corridor is India's fastest train        

The Namo Bharat train, operating at its highest speed of 160 kmph on the 55-km section of Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System, has become the fastest running train in the country. Earlier, Gatiman Express, launched in 2016, was the country's first semi-high speed train, which used to run at 160 kmph between Hazarat Nizamuddin and Agra on the specially-laid tracks. Later, when semi-high speed train series Vande Bharat was introduced, it also operated at the same maximum speed but only on this route. However, the Railway Ministry, on June 24, 2024, decided to reduce their speed from 160 to 130 kmph without specifying any reasons. At present, all trains across the Indian railway network operate with the upper speed limit of 130 kmph. Thirty trainsets of Namo Bharat each having 6 cars -- serving between New Ashok Nagar in East Delhi and Meerut South in Uttar Pradesh -- runs with 15 minutes frequency from each station and touches its maximum 160 kmph for a few seconds between some of the 11 stations on the route.

India on Thursday urged its citizens to stay away from offers to join the Russian Army and demanded Moscow to end its practice of recruiting Indians as support staff into the Russian military. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it has taken up the matter with Russian authorities, both in Delhi and Moscow. New Delhi's move came following reports that some Indians on student and business visas were forced into joining Russian military units deployed on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. The ministry cautioned its Indian nationals to not take offers to join the Russian military in view of inherent "risks and dangers" involved. "We have seen reports about Indian nationals having been recruited recently into the Russian army," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "The government has on several occasions over the past one year underlined the risks and dangers inherent in this course of action and cautioned Indian citizens accordingly," he said.

Russia reopens Krasnodar airport for first time since start of war in Ukraine

Russian authorities said on Thursday they had reopened the main airport in Krasnodar, one of the largest cities in southern Russia, for the first time since flights were suspended for security reasons in 2022 after the start of the war in Ukraine. The transport ministry said it had resolved outstanding security issues and that the reopening should help local residents and businesses and also provide access to holiday resorts along the Black Sea and Azov Sea coast. Rosaviatsiya, the aviation watchdog, said Krasnodar airport, which has been overhauled, was expected to receive its first regular flight from Moscow on September 17 when an Aeroflot passenger plane was due to land. The airport has not accepted flights since the end of February 2022, when Russia, after sending its troops into Ukraine, closed at least 10 airports for security reasons. Russia resumed operations at Gelendzhik airport, also in the south, in July 2025, and at Elista airport, in the Kalmykia region, in May 2024.