Delhi-Varanasi bullet train |
The second bullet train after the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor will run from Delhi to Varanasi, a distance of 782 km, and could complete the journey in just two hours and 40 minutes.The project connecting the capital to the pilgrimage city, which is also PM Modi`s Lok Sabha constituency, while passing through Lucknow has been fast-tracked ahead of the UP polls due in 2017.Though it will be a while before the service rolls out, the Delhi-Varanasi stretch — part of the Delhi-Kolkata corridor — has been accorded topmost priority for the railways after the national transporter accelerated the Mumbai-Ahmedabad stretch by tying up funds with Japan and setting up of the High Speed Rail Corporation.Fast-tracking of the stretch seems to be part of the Modi regime`s strategy to project a pro-development image ahead of UP polls. The Delhi-Varanasi stretch will pass through Aligarh, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow and Sultanpur.An official said the interim report by a Spanish firm, which is conducting feasibility study of the high-speed rail corridor, was discussed by the Railway Board and the firm is likely to submit its final report in November.
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