India plans 1,750km bullet train corridor

India is planning to create a 1,750km high-speed rail corridor, connecting New Delhi in the north with Chennai in the south.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports that a high-level team of Indian rail executives has travelled to Beijing for meetings with Chinese high-speed rail companies, with a view to developing the line.

The line, which would be the second longest in the world after the 2,298km Beijing-Guangzhou line, would cost approximately US$32.6 billion to construct and would cut the overland travelling time between the two cities down to about eight hours.

An agreement has reportedly been sealed for the Chinese side to redevelop existing stations along the route, and to train Indian railway officials.

The Delhi-Chennai route forms part of the proposed ‘Diamond Quadrilateral’ project, which aims to develop high-speed railways between Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.

The Indian government is also planning to launch a bullet train link between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com