Bullet train: Travelling from Delhi to Varanasi in just 2.5 hours could be a reality after 14 yrs, says report

How about reaching your destination, 720 km away, in just 2.5 hours by train? Well a bullet train project is currently underway and it will connect Delhi and Varanasi, a report has said. The travel time will be reduced by 9.5 hours, thanks to the high speed train, it said. 

The project, which will connect Varansi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, with the national capital has reportedly been taken up on priority.

Travelling from Delhi to Lucknow, covering a distance of 440 km will take one hour and 38 minutes once the bullet train is operational, a railway official was quoted as saying by Times of India. The bullet train is capable of touching speeds up to 250 km/hour.

The project is part of the Delhi-Kolkata high-speed corridor (1474.5 km). Spanish firm M/s INECO-TYPSA-ICT had conducted a feasibility study of the project and submitted the final draft report to the high-speed rail corporation and railway board on Thursday, a Times Of India report said.

A fare of Rs 4.5 per km could be the base fare, which means, a trip from Delhi to Lucknow will cost at least Rs 1,980 and Delhi to Varanasi around Rs 3,240, the report said.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor scheduled to begin in September this year, and the Mumbai-Nagpur stretch which is in the advanced stage of getting approvals are some of the other projects, it said.

Once approved, the Delhi-Lucknow stretch will be operational by 2029, while the Delhi-Varanasi one by 2031, the report said.

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The Delhi-Varanasi stretch will pass through Greater Noida, Aligarh, Lucknow, Sultanpur and Jaunpur, while the main terminal will be in Delhi near Akshardham Temple, it said.

For the 720 km Delhi-Varanasi stretch, the estimated preliminary cost is expected to be around Rs 52,680, while for the 1474.5km Delhi-Kolkata corridor, it could be around 1.21 lakh crore, the report said.

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