NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Ministry of Railways denied on Thursday that the Delhi-Varanasi bullet train project had been abandoned and said that its DPR was still being taken into account. The DPR for the high-speed rail between Delhi and Varanasi has not been decided. The Railway Ministry does not have any objection to the project’s DPR, as stated by the ministry.
Additionally, it stated that the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) had completed and submitted the project’s detailed project report (DPR) to the Railway Board. “It (DPR) is under evaluation by RB, as part of the process of obtaining approval,” the ministry updated.
The high-speed corridor’s projected route travels via Varanasi, Greater Noida, Agra, Lucknow, and Prayagraj. The ministry further stated that R N Singh, Principal Executive Director (Infra), and NHSRCL representatives did not recently meet to discuss the DPR.
Sources, however, have claimed that a meeting took held and that the feasibility report of the high-speed Delhi-Varanasi project was discussed. Concerns over the project were expressed in relation to the numerous curves along the route. The National Highway-2 was built for the corridor in the feasibility study. It was claimed that doing so would enable more affordable land purchases and lower construction costs.
However, sources have maintained that a meeting took place and the feasibility report of the Delhi-Varanasi high speed project was discussed and concerns were raised on the project citing multiple curves along the route. The feasibility report proposed that the corridor be built along the National Highway-2. It said this will help in the acquisition of land at cheaper rates and reducing the cost of construction.
The sources claimed that the technical problem was that NH-2 had numerous curving stretches between Delhi and Varanasi, which served as a hurdle, making it extremely risky for a train to run at 350 kilometers per hour. “To operate a bullet train at 350 kmph, the high-speed corridor’s track should be straight.
The railway ministry claimed it could not answer to queries on particular features of the DPR, such as projected cost, stoppages, and estimated date of commencement of work, because the project has not yet been sanctioned and the detailed report has not yet been approved.
