Infrastructure
India's High-Speed Rail Expansion: Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai To Have Bullet Train Corridors
- The first trial run of the ongoing Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project between Surat and Bilimora (63 km) is scheduled for August 2026.
- Work on additional high-speed rail routes is expected to commence within five to 10 years.
High-Speed Rail. (Shutter stock)
India will have a high-speed rail network connecting major cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata.
Rajesh Prasad, Director of Operations at Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), revealed that feasibility reports have been conducted for high-speed corridors linking New Delhi to Kolkata, New Delhi to Mumbai, Mumbai to Chennai, and Delhi to Amritsar via Chandigarh.
The Ministry of Railways explored the feasibility study for the Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High-Speed Trains, which includes four sides: Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chennai, Chennai-Kolkata, and Kolkata-Delhi, as well as both diagonals linking Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai-Kolkata.
“If you want to see the future of high-speed corridors then I will tell you that we have four major megacities, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The four sides and two diagonals we are going to have the high-speed corridors in time to come,” said Prasad, reports ET Infra.
Prasad added, "A lot of planning has already been done in the past, including feasibility studies and financing models.
Prasad stated that work on additional routes is expected to commence within five to 10 years.
Currently, the execution of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor is being undertaken by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of RVNL.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, which costs Rs 1.25 lakh crore, is being constructed with about 88 per cent of the project being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) via a soft loan, and the remaining funds coming from the government.
The high-speed rail operating at 320 kmph will traverse along west India’s landscape, covering a 508.17 km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just about two hours.
This will save time compared to current travel time between the two terminal stations by about nine hours (by bus) or six hours (by conventional railways).
It will cover 155.76 km in Maharashtra, 4.3 km in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 348.04 km in Gujarat, with 12 stations en route.
