See main article: High-speed rail in India. India currently does not have any high-speed rail lines operational, but has several lines planned, one of which is currently under construction. The following article lists all the lines in various stages of completion.[1] For conventional lines in India, see List of railway lines in India.
The Indian Ministry of Railways has classified railway line speeds into seven categories:[2] [3] [4]
| Route | Speed | Length | Gauge | Type | Opened | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tughlakabad–Agra | Broad | Upgraded | 2016[5] | |||
| Sahibabad–Meerut south | Standard | New | 2023[6] |
See main article: Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor is the first of the twelve lines proposed and also the first one to be under construction, it connects India's economic hub Mumbai with the city of Ahmedabad. The stretch which is being developed with financial and technical support from Japan, when completed, will take about two hours to traverse, four hours quicker than regular rail which takes six hours and fifteen minutes.[7]
See main article: Delhi–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. The Delhi-Ahmedabad corridor is part of the greater Delhi-Mumbai corridor and once completed, will connect Mumbai, the financial capital of India with New Delhi, the capital of India, and will bring down the travel time from existing twelve-hour journey on regular rail to three and a half hours. On 16 April 2024, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the corridor was approved by Indian Railways and as of April 2024, it is awaiting approval from the central government.[8]
See main article: Delhi–Varanasi high-speed rail corridor. The Delhi-Varanasi corridor of 813km (505miles) length will connect Varanasi to Delhi through twelve stations via Lucknow. Depending on the cost feasibility, a spur route to Ayodhya may also be planned as a part of the network. The entire section is part of the greater Delhi-Kolkata corridor. Upon completion, it would take three and a half hours to reach Varanasi while existing fastest service of Vande Bharat takes eight hours.[9]
See main article: Chennai–Mysuru high-speed rail corridor. The Chennai-Mysuru corridor via Bengaluru is set to be southern India's first high-speed corridor, the corridor will cut the current six and a half hour journey down to just two hours and twenty-five minutes.[10] As of March 2024, preliminary works involving route alignment and environamental impact assessment had been completed and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey, alignment design, and balance activities were under way.[11]
See main article: Mumbai–Nagpur high-speed rail corridor. The long Mumbai-Nagpur corridor lies entirely within the state of Maharashtra. The DPR for the project was completed in 2022 and was submitted to the central government for approval. Most of the corridor is set to run along the Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway, thereby reducing the costs of land acquisition. Once completed, it will bring the travel time from the existing twelve hours to three and a half hours.[12]
See main article: Mumbai–Hyderabad high-speed rail corridor. The long corridor connecting Mumbai with Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, has its DPR currently under preparation. There are plans for a Navi Mumbai terminal integrated with the under construction Navi Mumbai International Airport. However, the project has seen a setback after NHSRCL delayed the submission of DPR. When completed, the corridor is set to bring the current fifteen hours of travel time down to three and a half hours.[13]
See main article: Varanasi–Howrah high-speed rail corridor. The Varanasi-Howrah section is part of the greater Delhi-Howrah corridor connecting Delhi with Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. The journey would take around three hours to complete, five hours quicker than existing Rajdhani service which takes eight hours. Indian Railways had prepared the DPR for seven more corridors, that included this section. However, as of June 2024, the DPR is yet to be approved by the government.[14]
See main article: Hyderabad–Bengaluru high-speed rail corridor. The Hyderabad-Bengaluru corridor is a proposed long corridor, connecting Hyderabad with Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka. The existing fastest service of Vande Bharat Express between the cities takes around eight hours to complete, while the proposed high-speed service would take two and a half hours to complete, saving five and a half hours. The studies for soil testing, property, and land acquisition requirements are set to commence and culminate into the preparation of DPR.[15]
See main article: Nagpur–Varanasi high-speed rail corridor. The planned Nagpur-Varanasi corridor is long and the first one through Madhya Pradesh, linking Jabalpur with Nagpur and Varanasi. This corridor is among the seven other corridors where Indian Railways had initiated the preparations of DPR.[16]
See main article: Delhi–Amritsar high-speed rail corridor. The DPR for long Delhi-Amritsar corridor is currently under preparation. When completed it will take under two hours to reach Amritsar from New Delhi. After submissions of objections if any and approval, the land acquisition would commence under the RFCT LARR Act 2013.[17]
See main article: Patna–Guwahati high-speed rail corridor. The long proposed Patna-Guwahati corridor is the first corridor connecting Northeastern India. It will take around three and a half hours to complete the journey, eleven and a half hours quicker than existing fastest service of Rajdhani on the regular rail route.[18]
See main article: Amritsar–Jammu high-speed rail corridor. The long Amritsar-Jammu corridor is set to be Kashmir's first high-speed rail. The proposed corridor will connect Jammu to the Indian high-speed rail network via Pathankot.[18]
In 2021, the Railways had prepared and submitted the DPR of long Ahmedabad-Rajkot corridor connecting Gujrat's capital with one of its major city, Rajkot. But the project has been stalled for unknown reasons.[19]
See main article: Silver Line (K-Rail). The Silver Line project connecting Kerala's Thrivananthapuram to Kasargod was proposed in 2019, but was temporarily halted in 2024 by the Kerala state government until central government give approval. The existing service of Vande Bharat takes about eight hours, while the Silver Line is slated to cut the journey time by half to four hours. A week after the railway ministry had shown doubts if the state government had abandoned the project, Kerala wrote a letter to the central government seeking approval in February 2024.[20]
See main article: Pune–Nashik rail line. The Pune-Nashik high-speed rail project was initially in length, but after the addition of a stop in Shirdi, the length was further increased by, making it a stretch of . Upon completion this distance would be traversed in two and a half hours. The progress was stalled after an update in the alignment and it is currently awaiting for an approval from Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA).[21]
On 4 July 2014, Indian Railways conducted a trial run of a passenger train on the upgraded broad-gauge section between New-Delhi and Agra at speeds of along half of the long route.[22] Following which Gatimaan Express was launched two years later in 2016 attaining the maximum speed on of the route between Tughlakabad and Agra Cantonment stations in Delhi and Agra respectively.[23]
See main article: Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. The new standard gauge railway between New Delhi and Meerut was envisioned under RapidX project to connect Delhi with its satellite cities. In 2023, a priority section of the line between Sahibabad and Duhai was opened, with the operations extending up to Meerut south in 2024. The service is operated at a maximum speed of 160 km/h on the existing section of the line.[24]
See main article: Diamond Quadrilateral.
Diamond quadrilateral is an ambitious plan from India to connect its major cities of New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai via a high-speed rail network. Sections of this project are either already under construction or proposed.