Suresh Prabhu puts high-speed rail corridors on fast track

Nov 21, 2014 - MANISH ANAND |

Suresh Prabhu puts high-speed rail corridors on fast track (Source: PTI)

Armed with detailed reports on nine semi-high speed rail corridors, railway minister Suresh Prabhu is likely to unveil a roadmap to speed up their execution soon. The Railways had given the job of conducting a feasibility study on the challenging Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai semi-high speed corridor to a Chinese state firm, Eryuann, which will do the work at its own cost.
A detailed report, including on costing, has been given to the minister, who has to ensure the allocation of funds in the coming Rail Budget, in which he may also give a timeline to complete the nine semi-high speed corridors (160-200 kmph).
Sources said that after the Delhi-Agra semi-high speed corrdor, that is awaiting the sanction of the Commission on Railway Safety, the next routes that will be completed are the Delhi-Chandigarh and Nagpur-Secunderabad ones. This is good news for Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who represents Nagpur, as the Nagpur-Secunderabad route was found the most easy and cost-effective to execute. After that, the Nagpur-Bilaspur semi-high speed corridor might also be taken up at the earliest, the sources said.