Nagpur-Mumbai High-Speed Rail Corridor Remains in Limbo Despite 2022 Proposal
Nearly four years after Indian Railways first proposed a high-speed rail corridor connecting Nagpur to Mumbai, this ambitious infrastructure project continues to await formal approval from the central government. The proposal, which envisioned trains operating at speeds up to 350 kilometers per hour, has been overshadowed by the recent budget announcement of seven new bullet train corridors across India.
Project Vision and Current Status
The Nagpur-Mumbai bullet train project was initially proposed in 2022 by then Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve. The ambitious plan aimed to create a 750-kilometer high-speed link that would pass through several key Maharashtra cities including Mumbai, Nashik, Shirdi, Aurangabad, and Nagpur. This corridor promised to dramatically reduce travel time between Maharashtra's capital and its second capital from nearly twelve hours by conventional rail to approximately three and a half hours.
The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) was assigned the crucial task of preparing a detailed project report for this corridor. However, despite this assignment, the detailed project report has yet to receive the necessary central clearance that would allow the project to move forward.
Official Perspectives and Regional Concerns
CR Divisional Railway Manager Vinayak Garg provided insights into the current situation, explaining that preliminary work had indeed been carried out for the Nagpur-Mumbai bullet train project. "Initial surveys for the Nagpur-Mumbai bullet train project were conducted and even the detailed project report was ready," Garg stated. He further elaborated on the recent budget announcements, noting that corridors passing through Pune and Mumbai received priority due to higher demand projections.
Garg expressed optimism about future prospects, suggesting that "once Ajni station is complete and we start a few more trains like Duronto between the two cities, the Centre would allocate a bullet train to Nagpur." This perspective highlights the railway administration's belief in a phased approach to infrastructure development.
However, former employees and regional observers have raised serious questions about the prolonged delay. Many have expressed concerns that Vidarbha region is being "neglected once again" in national infrastructure planning. Critics are asking why earlier proposals for the Nagpur-Mumbai corridor have not progressed while new corridors have been announced at the national level.
Technical Specifications and Comparative Analysis
The planned Nagpur-Mumbai high-speed rail corridor features impressive technical specifications that demonstrate its advanced design:
- A 749-kilometer alignment with a 17.5-meter-wide track
- Twelve strategically located stations along the route
- Fifteen tunnels to navigate challenging terrain
- Land acquisition requirements totaling 1,245.61 hectares
- Trains designed with a passenger capacity of 750
- Operating speeds between 330 and 350 kilometers per hour
While the final project cost has not been officially determined, industry experts are drawing comparisons with the 508-kilometer Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. That project is estimated to cost over 1.10 lakh crore rupees, suggesting that the longer Vidarbha route would likely require an even higher financial outlay.
The continued delay in formal approval for the Nagpur-Mumbai bullet train project represents a significant infrastructure development challenge for Maharashtra. As the central government moves forward with other high-speed rail initiatives, stakeholders in Vidarbha region await clarity on when their long-proposed connectivity enhancement might finally receive the green light.
