PM Modi approves North Corridor bullet train project
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the new corridor will connect Delhi to Siliguri and extend to Guwahati.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the North Corridor of the bullet train project. The route will connect Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna, and Siliguri, extending to Guwahati.
The project is expected to reduce travel times significantly. The journey between Delhi and Varanasi is expected to take three hours and 35 minutes, while the Lucknow-Varanasi trip is expected to take one hour and 21 minutes.
Speaking before flagging off the new Vande Bharat Sleeper Express services between Varanasi and New Delhi, Vaishnaw said the prime minister's approval will change the lives of many. He added that the project would be built under the Make in India initiative.
Vaishnaw stated that construction is progressing rapidly and will be fully 'Make in India', built by Indian youth and welders. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said an action plan has been prepared to operate a bullet train between Delhi and Varanasi to reduce travel time to three-and-a-half hours.
Vaishnaw also noted that Uttar Pradesh’s railway budget allocation has increased twentyfold. The allocation rose from ₹1,100 crore under previous governments to ₹20,000 crore.