High speed rail in India

Abstract

The Railways first proposed high speed rail routes during the 2007-08 Railway budget. One route each was proposed in the Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern regions of the country. The trains were proposed to run at speeds close to 300-350kmph and covering a distance of up to 600km in 2-3 hours. For implementing the project, feasibility study of five HSR corridors was considered: Delhi – Chandigarh – Amritsar (450km), Ahmedabad – Mumbai – Pune (650km), Hyderabad – Vijayawada – Chennai (644km), Chennai – Bangalore – Coimbatore – Ernakulam (649km) and Howrah–Haldia (135km). In addition, the Railway Budget 2009-10 also proposed preparing feasibility report for the 991km long Delhi–Agra–Lucknow – Varanasi – Patna route.