The proposed Delhi-Varanasi high-speed rail corridor via Ayodhya, to be built in 2026-30, will cost ₹1,71,000 crore, according to estimates in the draft national rail plan document.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) has already started the initial studies by using laser-technology for this corridor to speed up the detailed project report study.
The HSR corridors to which the draft proposes fund allotment till 2031 include: the 855-km stretch between Delhi and Varanasi via Ayodhya; Varanasi to Patna (250 km at a cost of ₹50,000 crore), Patna to Kolkata (530 km, ₹1.06 lakh crore) and Delhi-Ahmedabad via Udaipur (886 km, ₹1.77 lakh crore). Overall, between 2026 and 2031, investment in 2,521 km of HSR with a cost of ₹5.04 lakh crore is proposed.
The proposed corridors are more-or-less same as those that are part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). In addition, the National Rail Pipeline has proposed certain extensions or new for enhancing HSR…