The Railways ministry is planning to develop seven dedicated high-speed rail corridors across the country. The ambitious project, estimated to cost around Rs 16 lakh crore, aims to drastically reduce travel times between key cities and position train travel as a practical alternative to air transport.
Among the most significant proposals are the Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri bullet train corridors. According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, these routes could cut travel time between Delhi and Siliguri to nearly six hours, passing through major cities such as Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna. Currently, the fastest train on the route, the Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, takes more than 20 hours to complete the journey.
