'Each km of high-speed track to cost Rs.100 crore'

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Monday that laying each kilometer of high-speed railway track will cost Rs.100-140 crore.

The minister told the Lok Sabha during question hour that the railways will require a Rs.80,000 crore for the entire length of the planned high-speed tracks.

"We will need Rs 80,000 crore to construct the entire length of the planned high speed tracks," the minister said in a written reply.

The minister elaborated that cost of laying one km of high speed railway track was 10 to 14 times higher than the construction of a normal track.

Replying to another question the minister said the the railways does not have any high speed corridor.

The minister further said that eight high speed train corridors have been identified for pre-feasibility studies.

"A joint feasibility study for Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor co-financed by India and Japan which started in December 2013, is targeted for completion in June 2015," Prabhu said.

"A provision of Rs.33 crore was made in the railway budget 2014-15 for study of diamond quadrilateral and other identified high speed rail corridors and Rs.40 crore has been proposed in the railway budget for the same," the minister added.