LUCKNOW (Metro Rail News): The Awadh crossing in the state capital, which connects the expressway and highway to the city, is likely to be the pit stop for the ‘bullet train’ planned to start cruises on the Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor.DVHSR) by 2029.
Answering a question on February 11 in Rajya Sabha, The Ministry of Railways has announced plans to conduct a survey and prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for seven corridors, including DVHSR.
According to government officials, the 813-km track will have 13 stations, including 12 elevated ones in Uttar Pradesh and one underground in Delhi, at which the train will run at a speed of 330 kmph. It will take at least 3 hours 33 minutes to reach Varanasi from the national capital with a limited number of stops. About 15 km long tunnel will be built for the underground station.
Since the route alignment of DVHSR is with Yamuna and Agra-Lucknow Expressway and the proposed Ganga Expressway to avoid forest and wildlife, the train is likely to have its station at Lucknow at Avadh crossing. “A total of 43 trains per day will reach Avadh crossing station every 22 minutes,” an official said.
Starting from Hazrat Nizamuddin, this train will stop at Noida Sector 146 Metro Station, Jewar Airport, Mathura, Agra, Etawah, Kannauj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Bhadohi and will end at Manduadih (Varanasi). A Foot Over Bridge (FOB) will connect the station at Awadh Crossing to Singer Nagar Metro Station so that passengers can reach their destination in the city.
Similarly, FOB will be constructed from Prayagraj station to Phaphamau railway station. As per the proposed plan, 18 trains will run daily from Varanasi at an interval of 47 minutes. In Delhi, DVHSR underground station will be opposite Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, while in Noida it will be opposite Sector 146 metro station. At Jewar, the DVHSR station will be part of the Jewar Airport transport network.
According to officials, another section of DVHSR has been proposed to connect Lucknow and Ayodhya, but it will depend on cost feasibility. Apart from the Delhi-Varanasi route, the survey will be conducted for Varanasi-Howrah, Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Ahmedabad. Mumbai-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Nagpur and Chennai-Mysore via Bangalore. Presently, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is working on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor.
