The government has taken a significant step toward expanding India’s bullet train network to the southern region. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Friday that a survey has been ordered for the proposed high-speed rail corridor in South India.
Cities to Be Connected
According to Naidu, the proposed network will connect four major southern cities: Hyderabad, Chennai, Amaravati, and Bengaluru. This corridor, spanning a population of over five crore people, is expected to become one of the busiest and most commercially viable routes for high-speed rail. Naidu highlighted the project’s potential to strengthen connectivity and boost economic growth across the region.
PM Modi’s Push for High-Speed Rail
The announcement coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan, where he traveled in a bullet train from Tokyo to Sendai with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Modi emphasized that India is aiming for an ambitious 7,000-km-long bullet train network. He also reaffirmed that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, a flagship collaboration between India and Japan, will commence passenger services within the next few years.
Future Routes Under Consideration
The National Rail Plan has already identified several possible routes for future bullet train projects, including:
- Delhi – Varanasi
- Delhi – Ahmedabad
- Mumbai – Nagpur
- Mumbai – Hyderabad
- Chennai – Mysore
- Delhi – Amritsar
- Varanasi – Howrah
With South India now formally entering the roadmap, the high-speed rail expansion is set to transform India’s transportation landscape.
