Railways begins viability assessment for 7 new bullet train corridors

Railway Board has asked NHSRCL to update DPRs with current costs for seven proposed high-speed rail corridors, as India looks to accelerate bullet train expansion beyond Mumbai-Ahmedabad

Following the Union Budget announcement to establish seven new high-speed rail corridors, commonly known as bullet trains, the Ministry of Railways has initiated steps to expedite their implementation, according to officials.

 

Following a high-level meeting at the Railway Board, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has been directed to take immediate action to ensure timely progress, an official said. “As part of the roadmap, detailed project reports (DPRs) for completed corridors will be updated with current cost estimates to enable accurate financial viability assessments,” he added.

 

The proposed corridors, spanning around 4,000 kilometres and likely to cost around Rs 16 trillion, include Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi, and Varanasi–Siliguri.

 

 

The official said that the Railway Board has also called for the standardisation of high-speed rail systems across India, creation of dedicated field-based core teams for each project, and initiation of pre-construction activities, including contract documentation.

 

“Planning for trained technical manpower to support upcoming high-speed rail projects has also been emphasised to ensure readiness for large-scale implementation. Progress on all action points will be reviewed at an appropriate level,” he added.

 

Last week, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the detailed plan — slated to be released in the coming months — will look at increased levels of indigenisation in these seven corridors, and the work is likely to happen at a much faster pace than the first corridor, which is currently under construction.

 

“The country has gone up the learning curve during the first Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor. Today, our engineers understand the technology — civil, overhead equipment, signalling systems, rolling stock, station construction, and others. This is a significant change. We have to build upon that experience,” Vaishnaw had said.