Nizam’s city just four hours away from Mumbai

A detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared for the proposed Mumbai-Hyderabad high speed rail corridor by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a subsidiary of Railway Ministry formed to build high

speed train routes (called bullet trains) in India.

If this plan works out, passengers will be able to travel between Mumbai and Hyderabad by a high-speed train in about four hours. It will be at least ten hours less than the time required to travel by train as of now and a little more than double the time required by a flight which is an average 90 minutes.

Mumbai-Hyderabad high speed rail corridor is likely to be a joint project of the central and the Maharashtra government.

In response to Railway’s plans, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has already written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering to work jointly on the project which will also connect some cities in Maharashtra. It is proposed that a 10-coach train with a capacity of approximately 750 passengers should be operated between Mumbai and Hyderabad.

A senior NHSRCL official informed that the proposed alignment of the corridor will be different considering mountainous terrain on the route. It will be overground unlike the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train which will be partially underground. The DPR will be submitted to the government by mid-2022 and after discussions the final alignment of Mumbai- Hyderabad will be decided.

Under the DPR, an aerial survey for land acquisition is already conducted in September 2021. Study of land requirements, number of railway stations, construction of terminals and station premises, identification of overhead facilities, underhead and underground utilities is being done. The cost of the project too is yet to be worked out. It will depend on the land acquisition process, said officials.

According to the NHSRCL officials nearly 1,200 hectares of land would be required for the project. A meeting with state government officials in Maharashtra and in Telangana was held in November end and September.

‘The project will then go to the Railway ministry for sanction following which bids will be invited from companies to build the same,’the official added. Passenger associations say any plan to provide faster transportation for the people is a good step.

‘It is a welcoming move. to build a high speed corridor to connect Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. People wanting to travel to Pune will also be able to reach their destination quicker. Though it will be a bit expensive, travelling between Mumbai and Pune would become smoother. Presently it takes upto three hours by trains.’ said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.

Further, apart from Mumbai – Hyderabad and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project of high speed railway corridor between Mumbai – Ahmedabad, the NHSRCL will also construct Delhi – Varanasi, Mumbai Nagpur, Delhi – Ahmedabad, Chennai- Bangalore- Mysore, Delhi – Amritsar and Varanasi – Patna -Howrah high speed train corridors. The DPR of the high speed railway corridor between Mumbai -Nagpur will be submitted by NHSRCL to the state government in the starting of 2022.