The proposed Delhi-Varanasi high-speed bullet train project comes to a halt as the Railway Board has rejected the feasibility report on the project citing multiple curves along the route that would allow a bullet train to run at a speed of 350 kmph. will not fit.
Sources said the decision was taken in a meeting of Railway Board Secretary RN Singh last week to review the bullet train project. The feasibility study report was submitted by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
However, the Railways said in a statement that a decision is yet to be taken on the feasibility report of the Delhi-Varanasi bullet train project. It is further stated that it is informed that no decision has yet been taken on the DPR (Detailed Project Report) of the said Bullet Train Project and the project is still under consideration.
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The corridor proposed in the feasibility report will be built along National Highway-2. This will help in acquisition of land at cheaper rates and reduce the cost of construction, the report said.
However, the technical problem that led to the rejection of the proposal was that the NH-2 had curved sections at several places between Delhi and Varanasi, which would be too dangerous for a train to run at a speed of 350 kmph. A source is present said at the meeting.
“To run a bullet train at a speed of 350 kmph, the track of the high speed corridor should be straight,” the source said. While NHSRCL is keen to start work on the project, the Railway Board is wary, especially given the delays and bottlenecks in the ongoing bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Due to the delay, sources said, the estimated cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project is likely to reach Rs 1.50 lakh crore. Officials said that about Rs 200 crore per kilometer is being spent on building the high-speed corridor.
The Railway Board has suggested that for now, focus should be on running only semi-high speed Vade Bharat trains at a speed of 160-200 kmph. Officials said around 400 such trains would be available in the next three years and could be used on different routes.
(with inputs from PTI)