High speed Delhi-Chandigarh rail corridor on the cards

Chandigarh, May 26 (UNI) The Haryana Government today agreed in principle to enter into the joint venture for setting up of High Speed Rail Corridor between Delhi and Chandigarh which would reduce the travelling time between the two cities by about one and a half hours.

This was decided in a meeting between Haryana Chief Secretary Prem Prashant and the Railway Board Chairman, Mr J P Batra New Delhi today.

Mr Prashant said that it was also decided to form a joint forum for studying the feasibility of this elevated High Speed Rail Corridor. The project cost for the 500 Km Corridor was Rs 25,000 crore, excluding land costs said Mr Batra.

The High Speed Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation would act as the nodal agency for project development, responsible for establishment of High Speed Passenger Rail Network in the country, he added.

The speed of the train on this Corridor would be 250 Km per hour and the trains would have world class comfort.

Mr Batra said that high speed trains would also play a significant role in dealing with the problem of global warming as these trains have a smaller carbon footprint. The meeting was also attended by the senior officers of the Railway Board and Haryana Government.

UNI