Bullet train plan gains clarity on corridor

The 778-kilometre high-speed rail corridor linking Chennai and Hyderabad has moved into a decisive phase as the South Central Railway submitted the final alignment to the Tamil Nadu government and triggered the detailed project report process.

- HD Bureau

The alignment update comes after the state requested the route be revised to include a station at Tirupati instead of the earlier plan via Gudur, according to officials. Engineered for top operational speeds of up to 350 km/h, the project is designed to cut the current 12-hour journey between the two major cities to approximately 2 hours 20 minutes. The route incorporates two stations in Tamil Nadu — one at Chennai Central and another near Minjur on the Ring Road — and requires an estimated 223.44 hectares of non-forest land for the 6l-km section within the state.