India's first railway university 'will be dedicated to the nation'
What's the story
Union Minister Piyush Goyal along with Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani will dedicate India's first railway university to the nation on December 15, a senior official of the national transporter said today.
The National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI) in Vadodara, Gujarat opened its doors to the first batch of 103 students from 20 states in two fully-residential undergraduate courses in September this year.
Plans
Two undergraduate programs have already started, Masters being mulled
This is world's third such after Russia and China.
Two programs, i.e. B.Sc. in Transportation Technology and BBA in Transportation Management have already started.
The university also aims to start masters program from 2019-20 academic session, in areas such as Transportation and Systems Design, Transport Systems Engineering, Transport Policy, and Economics, among others.
This institute is located in the National Academy of Indian Railway.
Details
103 students have enrolled, student body has 17 girls
"It is a matter of great pride that such a unique institute offering such diverse courses will be dedicated to the nation on December 15," the official said.
The student body is highly diverse with 17 girls and 86 boys coming from 20 states.
Forty-one students have taken admission in the BBA (Transportation Management) program while 62 students are in B.Sc (Transportation Technology) program.
Funding
Railways Ministry has sanctioned Rs. 421cr for next 5 years
The Ministry of Railways has sanctioned Rs. 421 crore for the project for the next five years.
Approximately 110 acres of land at Pipaliya village in Waghodiya Taluka, District Vadodara has been identified for the deemed university.
Acquisition of the land from the Gujarat government is under process and the master plan of the new campus is being finalized, the official added.