Railway Ministry disapproves feasibility report of Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor

New Delhi, India (Urban Transport News): Ministry of Railways on Monday disapporved the feasibility study report prepared by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for 816-km high speed bullet train corridor conencting Delhi to Varanasi, saying technically not-suitable due to multiple curves along the route.

The decision was taken in a review meeting chaired by Secretary Railway Board Shri R. N. Singh last week. The meeting was attended by senior officials from Railway Board and NHSRCL. "The feasibility report proposed by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) stated that the corridor be built along National Highway-2 citing that this will help in the acquisition of land at cheaper rates and reduce the cost of construction,” said a railways official.

According to the officials, NH-2 has multiple curves which could prove to be risky for the train to run at 350kmph and the track for high-speed trains should ideally be straight.

In the review meeting, Railway board officials suggested that their focus should be only on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project; semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains that will be running at a speed of 180- 200kmph.

The ongoing Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed bullet train project is delayed and expected to get all land and environmental related clearances anytime, thus leading to escalation of the project cost from Rs 1.10 Lakh Crore to 2 Lakh Crore.

The estimated cost of Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Bullet Train Corridor would be Rs2.25 Lakh crore as the length of the proposed corridor is greater than Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor. However, the officials are also awaiting for the detailed project report (DPR) of the proposed Delhi-Varanasi Bullet Train Project to be submitted by NHSRCL.