PM Modi approves north corridor for bullet train project
The new corridor will connect Delhi to Guwahati and significantly reduce travel times between several cities.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the North Corridor of the bullet train project. According to reports from Hindustan Times, The Tribune and Deccan Herald, the route will connect Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna, Siliguri and extend to Guwahati.
Speaking in Varanasi before flagging off the new Vande Bharat Sleeper Express services between Varanasi and New Delhi, Vaishnaw said the project would be built under the Make in India initiative. He stated that the construction is progressing rapidly and will be fully 'Make in India', built by Indian youth and welders.
The minister provided several expected travel times for the new corridor. The journey from Delhi to Agra is expected to take 59 minutes, while the trip to Kanpur will take 1 hour and 45 minutes. Travel from Delhi to Lucknow is expected to take 2 hours and 12 minutes, and the journey between Delhi and Varanasi is expected to take between three hours and 33 minutes and three hours and 35 minutes.
Vaishnaw also noted that the trip from Lucknow to Varanasi will take 1 hour and 21 minutes. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said an action plan has been developed to run a bullet train between Delhi and Varanasi to reduce travel time to three-and-a-half hours.
Vaishnaw added that Uttar Pradesh’s railway budget allocation has increased from ₹1,100 crore under previous governments to ₹20,000 crore.