NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday that detailed project reports (DPRs) will be prepared soon for the seven high-speed rail corridors announced in the 2026-27 Budget to drive economic growth in the regions they pass through.
The new corridors are: Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bangalore, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bangalore, Delhi-Varanasi, and Varanasi-Siliguri.
“In the near future, almost all major cities of the country with commercial, religious and cultural importance will feature on the high-speed rail network in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ensuring that no significant city remains unconnected by railway services,” Vaishnaw told this newspaper.
He said that over the next five years, the railway network would undergo a major transformation, with services upgraded to global benchmarks. Providing details of budgetary outlays for railway projects, the minister said UP has been allocated Rs 20,012 crore, which he said was 18 times higher than the allocation during Congress rule.
He added that railway projects worth Rs 92,000 crore were currently underway in the state. “Whatever the BJP has promised in its election manifesto on railways are being fulfilled,” he said, adding that UP would get two bullet trains — Delhi to Varanasi and Varanasi to Siliguri via Patna.
Rajasthan has been allocated Rs 10,228 crore for railway works and Madhya Pradesh given Rs 15,181 crore for railway infrastructure and other projects, which the minister said was 24 times higher than the allocations during the Congress rule.
“Chhattisgarh, which has a significant population of tribals, has been given an allocation of Rs 7,470 crore, 24 times higher than what the state used to get during the Congress rule,” Vaishnaw said.
He said the Modi government has earmarked Rs 23,926 crore for railway works in Maharashtra, with projects worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore currently in progress. The state would receive two additional bullet train services —Mumbai to Pune and Pune to Hyderabad, he added.
Gujarat has been allocated Rs 17,366 crore for railway projects in the Budget, which he said was 29 times higher than allocations during the Congress rule.
“Bullet train works under phase one of the high-speed rail project will be completed by December this year, with the first bullet train run expected in 2027,” the minister said.
Allocation to regions
Delhi has been allocated Rs 2,711 crore and will have one bullet train service from Delhi to Varanasi. Punjab has received Rs 5,673 crore, and Haryana has got Rs 3,566 crore for railway projects. Vaishnaw said Himachal Pradesh has been allocated Rs 2,911 crore for railway works.