New Delhi, April 10 Detailed project reports for the seven high-speed corridors were prepared and submitted to the Railway Ministry in earlier years; however, the recent Union Budget announcement retained only the Delhi–Varanasi corridor, while the remaining six have been either modified or replaced, according to a document.
Railway officials said the decision to modify these corridors was taken after considering several factors, including feasibility, traffic surveys, and operational planning.
Infrastructure experts hailed the announcements of the high-speed corridor in the Union Budget as a game-changer for economic growth and business efficiency.
An internal communication document between NHSRCL and the Railway Ministry shows that the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) prepared two DPRs in 2021–22 for the Delhi–Varanasi corridor (942 km, including a 124 km spur from Lucknow to Ayodhya) and the Mumbai–Nagpur corridor (765 km).
While the government retained the Delhi–Varanasi project in the budget, it revised the Mumbai–Nagpur corridor to Mumbai–Pune.
In 2022–23, NHSRCL prepared a DPR for the 878 km Delhi–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor and submitted it to the Ministry. However, this project does not feature in the current list; instead, a new Hyderabad–Bengaluru corridor has been proposed.
The original plan for the fourth corridor was the 671 km Mumbai–Hyderabad route, for which a DPR was submitted in 2023–24. This has now been modified to Pune–Hyderabad.
The document noted that NHSRCL incorporated inputs and feedback from the Railway Ministry while finalising the DPRs, keeping alignment designs for an operating speed of 300 kmph.
"For the Delhi–Varanasi High-Speed Rail (DVHSR) corridor, two DPRs were submitted, with operating speeds of 300 kmph and 200 kmph," it said.
"All four DPRs were prepared in-house, with final alignment details based on LiDAR data, along with Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)," the document added.
The DPR for the fifth corridor — the 475 km Delhi–Amritsar route — was submitted in July 2024 but did not make it to the final list. Instead, a new Hyderabad–Chennai corridor has been included.
Similarly, the 464 km Chennai–Mysore corridor, for which a DPR was submitted in September 2024, has now been revised to Chennai–Bengaluru.
The seventh corridor, originally planned as the 754 km Varanasi–Howrah route, has been modified to Varanasi–Siliguri.
According to the document, alignment designs for the Delhi–Amritsar, Chennai–Mysore, and Varanasi–Howrah corridors were based on an operating speed of 300 kmph.
Speaking about the seven corridors announced in the Union Budget, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently informed Parliament in a written reply that these projects will strengthen national transport infrastructure and boost regional economic growth.
"Being highly capital-intensive, the decision to sanction any high-speed rail corridor or project depends on several factors, including DPR outcomes, techno-economic feasibility studies, and the availability of financial resources," Vaishnaw said.