New Delhi: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India’s first bullet train corridor will pass through Bihar, connecting Varanasi to Siliguri via Patna.
Describing the project as a game-changer for the state, the minister said the high-speed rail link would significantly improve connectivity while driving economic growth and regional development.
Vaishnaw also revealed that two new bullet train corridors will be taken up in Tamil Nadu, which has received a record railway allocation of Rs 7,611 crore. The announcements come as the Union Budget 2026-27 earmarked a capital expenditure of Rs 2.93 lakh crore for the Ministry of Railways, underscoring the government’s continued focus on expanding rail infrastructure.
During her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined a long-term vision for seven high-speed rail corridors, termed “growth connectors,” aimed at promoting environmentally sustainable passenger transport. These proposed corridors include Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri.
The projects are expected to sharply cut inter-city travel time and enable seamless, multimodal passenger movement across key economic regions.
