Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Chennai in just two hours: Centre’s high-speed rail plan to rival air travel

Representative image (via Grok)

Train travel from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and Chennai may soon rival air travel in terms of speed. The Centre's ambitious plan to develop two high-speed rail corridors aims to slash travel time by almost 10 hours, with trains expected to operate at speeds of 320 kmph.

Once operational, these high-speed trains will ferry passengers from Hyderabad to Bengaluru in just 2 hours and to Chennai in 2 hours and 20 minutes, as per a Times of India report. Currently, flights from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to Bengaluru and Chennai take around 1 hour and 15 minutes and 1 hour and 20 minutes, respectively. However, factoring in airport transfers to city centres extends the total journey to 2-3 hours—comparable to the proposed train travel times.

The Hyderabad-Chennai corridor is proposed to span 705 km, while the Hyderabad-Bengaluru stretch will cover 626 km. RITES Limited, a public sector undertaking and engineering consultancy, has invited tenders for the final location survey, including a Detailed Project Report (DPR), alignment design, traffic estimates, and engineering documentation. The survey and assessment are estimated to cost Rs 33 crore.

Unlike conventional rail tracks that accommodate freight trains and passenger services like Vande Bharat, these new corridors will be exclusively for high-speed trains. The design mirrors the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor, currently under development for bullet train operations. A senior South Central Railway (SCR) official noted that while the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project began its feasibility assessment in 2015 and construction in 2021, with completion expected by 2028, the Hyderabad corridors may take around 15 years to finalize.

The tender outlines that the selected firm will conduct remote sensing studies, geological mapping, drilling for major bridges and viaducts, and laboratory testing of soil and rock samples along both corridors. Designed to accommodate speeds of up to 350 kmph, the corridors will initially operate at 320 kmph. Elevated tracks with provisions for future multi-tracking will be constructed alongside existing broad gauge railway corridors.

The comprehensive study will include traffic analysis, civil engineering assessments covering bridges, tunnels, buildings, and other structures, as well as detailed project appraisals to determine the financial internal rate of return, according to the tender notice.