HYDERABAD: Future rail passengers travelling to Bengaluru from Hyderabad can reach their destination in less than three hours with Indian Railways considering building a semi-high-speed rail corridor on this route. At present, it takes around 10 to 12 hours to cover the 620 km distance between the two IT hubs.
To shorten the distance to 500 km, Railways is proposing to build an exclusive corridor from Yelahanka in the northern part of Bengaluru to Secunderabad.
To be ready by 2050
Thousands of people travel between these two cities on a daily basis, said officials, adding that the corridor would be able to handle a running speed of 200 kmph. They added that the plan is to finish the project by 2050. The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) would carry out the feasibility study for the project. It would also prepare a detailed project report (DPR) based on the land availability and check for any obstacles for construction.
The project cost is estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore. A new line would be built along with an exclusive signalling system to facilitate the running of trains between the two southern India cities. At present, Indian Railways is upgrading two routes between Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah for running trains at 160 kmph speed.
Fencing would be laid along the track to make way for operations. Officials said the semi-high-speed trains would offer many quantifiable benefits like reduction in travel time, vehicle operation cost, reduction in pollution and enhanced safety.It would also boost the infrastructure and add to the growth of the economy, they added.