Hyderabad is set to become a major high-speed rail hub after Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced three bullet train corridors connecting the city with Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru.
The minister said the high-speed network, along with increased investment in railway infrastructure, would strengthen regional connectivity and integrate the economies of southern and western India, according to ANI.
Speaking after the HYSEA GCCS & IT Roundtable at the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, Vaishnaw said the three corridors form part of the Centre’s vision to expand India’s high-speed rail network while positioning Hyderabad as a key transportation and economic hub.
Three bullet train corridors announced for Hyderabad
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given three high-speed bullet train corridors to Hyderabad, which will change its landscape. From Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Chennai, and Hyderabad to Bengaluru–this will become a major game-changer for the entire region. Hyderabad will become the high-speed hub. It will bring a huge amount of development, and the economies of this entire region will become fully integrated,” the Minister told ANI.
Vaishnaw also highlighted the Centre’s investments in Telangana, saying the state has benefited significantly from electronics manufacturing initiatives and increased railway spending.
“More than a hundred electronics manufacturing companies have been promoted under the electronics manufacturing programs of the Government of India, where Telangana has been a big beneficiary. In railways, a Rs 5,400 crore budget is being given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Telangana. Because of that, a huge change is happening,” he told ANI.
The minister said investments in transport infrastructure and manufacturing are intended to improve connectivity while supporting industrial growth and economic development in the region.
Station redevelopment to complement rail infrastructure push
Alongside the high-speed rail announcement, Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of railway station redevelopment projects being undertaken across the country, stating that 261 stations have already been completed under the ongoing modernisation programme.
Highlighting the work at Secunderabad station, he said the project is being executed without disrupting regular train operations, making it one of the more complex station redevelopment works in the country.
“In the world, when they do a railway redevelopment work, they stop the traffic. We cannot stop the traffic. We have to do with great care while the traffic is still there. We are constructing an air concourse, which is like a roof over all the platforms, while trains are actually moving. We are working very diligently with a focus on safety and quality,” the Minister told ANI.
Vaishnaw also said the government has moved beyond cosmetic upgrades to comprehensive station reconstruction across the railway network.
“From 1947 onwards, no government ever took the redevelopment, which is the complete reconstruction of the stations which were old. Yes, sometimes paint was done, and ribbons were cut, but our Prime Minister took the challenge of fully transforming 1,300 stations,” he said, according to ANI.
According to the minister, the government aims to complete redevelopment work at 400 railway stations by the end of this year and 700 stations by the end of next year.
Providing an update on Telangana, Vaishnaw said Begumpet station has been completed and will soon be inaugurated, while redevelopment works at HITEC City, Warangal and Karimnagar have also been completed. Work is continuing at Hyderabad (Nampally), Kazipet Junction and Malakpet as part of the broader railway infrastructure upgrade programme in the state.