India to get second Bullet train from Delhi to Varanasi

After Mumbai-Ahmedabad, India will get its second bullet train from Delhi to Varanasi, which will cover the distance of 782 km in two hours 40 minutes, said a TOI report.

The stretch will reportedly pass through Aligarh, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow and Sultanpur.

Presently, the time taken by the trains to cover the route is about 10 hours to 14 hours. Also, travel time between Delhi to Lucknow will take only 1 hour 45 minutes covering 506 km, said the reports.

Ahead of UP assembly polls next year, the project of bullet train will be fast-tracked, the report added.

Further, the report said, that a Spanish firm is studying the feasibility of high-speed rail corridor and likely to submit final report by November. The Railway Board discussed the report with the firm.

As per the report, the preliminary cost for Delhi-Varanasi stretch will be Rs 43,000 crore and for the entire Delhi-Kolkata corridor, the estimated cost will be Rs 84000 crore. 

Last month, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that the first bullet train project between Mumbai-Ahmedabad is already underway and is expected to be ready by 2023. Estimated cost of this project is about Rs 97,636 crore and 81% of the project will funded by Japan.