Kamal Ghorui
Union minister for electronics and information technology and railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday laid out a roadmap to transform southern India’s transportation, placing the proposed bullet train network as a major driver of economic integration across key cities while also announcing significant rail and digital infrastructure expansion.Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam, the minister said that the high-speed rail project is designed to connect Amaravati with Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, drastically shrinking travel time and creating a stronger economic corridor across the region.Drawing parallels with the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, Vaishnaw said the same model of regional economic consolidation would now extend to Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring states.“The bullet train, the dream project for all of us. And as you are aware, if you have seen the videos of the progress of Ahmedabad to Mumbai bullet train, that 500 kilometer stretch will be completed in one hour and 57 minutes. So basically, Mumbai, Surat, Vapi, Baroda, Ahmedabad, all those large cities will become one single economic zone, one single economic region. That same magic will now happen in Andhra also, Amravati to Hyderabad in 70 minutes”.He described the proposed network as a “high-speed diamond” for southern India.
Proposed Bullet train travel times
Alongside the bullet train blueprint, Vaishnaw said that the South Coast Railway Zone will finally be notified on June 1, 2026, delivering on a long-standing promise linked to the reorganisation of states.He also outlined plans to strengthen rail movement on the eastern corridor by expanding the existing Kolkata-Chennai double railway line into a four-line network. This upgrade is expected to create capacity for nearly 500 more trains, covering both freight and passenger movement, while improving access to ports, tourism circuits and cultural centres.Also read | How seven new high-speed rail corridors can transform train travel in IndiaOn Andhra Pradesh’s railway investment, the minister said the scale of budgetary support has grown substantially. He pointed out that where Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together once received Rs 886 crore, Andhra Pradesh alone is now allocated Rs 10,134 crore.He added that projects exceeding Rs 1,06,000 crore are currently under implementation in Andhra Pradesh, while 74 railway stations are being rebuilt under a larger station modernisation programme.Vaishnaw also used the platform to push for stronger domestic technology manufacturing, urging businesses, including data centre operators, to manufacture servers in India and align with the India AI mission.He stressed that data infrastructure growth must be matched by sustainable practices, calling for better power efficiency, lower water consumption, recycling and wastewater utilisation.According to the minister, the combined push in railway modernisation and digital infrastructure will serve as a foundation for future economic growth and stronger regional connectivity.
