Vaishnaw Unveils South Bullet Train Plan and New Vande Bharat Routes
A proposed South Bullet Train Corridor, connecting Bengaluru with Hyderabad, Amaravati and Chennai, has been announced by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. He also said a Vande Bharat service between Bengaluru and Mangaluru will be launched within the next few weeks.
The announcement came on Sunday, when Vaishnaw flagged off the Vande Bharat Sleeper train between Bengaluru and Mumbai as part of Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the South Bullet Train Corridor, which will connect the region's key technology and economic hubs and speed up development in southern states.
The proposed corridor is expected to bring a sharp reduction in travel time. Bengaluru to Chennai could be covered in just 73 minutes, and Bengaluru to Hyderabad in roughly 2 hours and 10 minutes.
'Bengaluru and Chennai will soon be like a single city,' Vaishnaw said. He stated that this connectivity would further strengthen economic integration between major cities of South India. He also said the Prime Minister has cleared a 4,000-kilometre bullet train corridor, and that another 3,000 kilometres of corridors will be announced in the coming days.
He expressed confidence that the proposed Bengaluru-Pune bullet train corridor, passing through northern Karnataka, would also become a reality soon.
Addressing the demand for better rail connectivity along the coastal districts of Karnataka, the minister called Mangaluru an important city. He said electrification and testing on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route will be completed in the next few weeks, after which a Mangaluru-Bengaluru Vande Bharat train will run. 'It will bring top-class connectivity to the entire region,' he said.
Vaishnaw also announced another Vande Bharat Sleeper service in Karnataka. The train will connect Bengaluru to north Karnataka, move towards Hubballi, and continue to Pune and Mumbai.
Detailing the route of the newly launched Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper, he said the train will start from Bengaluru and pass through Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh. It will then re-enter Karnataka via Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburagi before moving on to Maharashtra.
The route covers a large portion of north Karnataka, which previously had limited rail access, the minister said. It was finalised after discussions with Union Ministers Prahlad Joshi, H. D. Kumaraswamy and V. Somanna.
Recalling the commitment behind the Vande Bharat Sleeper project, Vaishnaw said November 1, Karnataka Rajyotsava, was a fitting day to launch the service.
He said the Prime Minister had asked the Railways to keep the common man and middle-class families in mind while introducing modern services, so that the poor, young people and women also gain from them.
'With this approach, Namo Bharat, Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat trains have been introduced, and their services are being made available to people,' he said. 'This new sleeper service will link Bengaluru, the country's technology and startup capital, with Mumbai, its economic capital.'
During his address, soon after the bullet train corridor was announced, Union Minister Joshi stood up to congratulate Vaishnaw. The leaders then joined hands and chanted 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'.