Hyderabad-Chennai bullet train may cut travel time to under 3 hours

Ashwini Vaishnaw said proposed bullet train corridors could connect Hyderabad with Bengaluru in just over two hours and Chennai in under three hours. The Centre plans major investments in high-speed rail infrastructure, with land acquisition expected to begin shortly.

Hyderabad: From Hyderabad to Bengaluru in just about 2 hours! And to Chennai in about 3 hours!

Yes, that’s what the proposed Bullet trains from the city promise to do once they take shape. Still in early stages of planning, the high-speed rail connectivity looks to cut down the travel time drastically once it is in place.

---

Addressing a recent industry summit, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said once these corridors become operational, many passengers are likely to shift from airlines to bullet trains on short-haul sectors, especially on routes linking Hyderabad with major metropolitan cities.

In his address, the Railway Minister reeled out the details of the proposals and said the planned high-speed corridors would connect Hyderabad to Bengaluru in just 2 hours and 8 minutes. Presently, by bus, this travel is usually overnight, and the Vande Bharat service covers this nearly 497 km distance in 8 hours 15 minutes.

Ashwini Vaishnaw also said that the high-speed corridor from Hyderabad to Chennai will be covered in 2 hours 55 minutes. At present, the train connectivity between these two cities takes more than 12 hours. On the Pune-Hyderabad route, the Railway Minister said the distance is expected to be covered in 1 hour and 55 minutes, as against the present train travel time of around 8 hours 30 minutes.

Ashwini Vaishnaw pointed out international examples where high-speed rail has become the preferred mode of travel on dense urban corridors. According to railway authorities, the centre is planning to invest nearly Rs 16 lakh crore in the expansion of bullet train infrastructure across the country. The land acquisition for the upcoming corridors would begin shortly and the execution of the projects would be taken up on a large scale in the coming years.