New Delhi, May 13 -- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the construction of a 134-km semi-high-speed double rail line between Ahmedabad and Dholera in Gujarat at an estimated cost of around Rs 20,667 crore.
The project will be Indian Railways' first semi-high-speed corridor planned with indigenously developed technology.
"The project section will provide faster connectivity between Ahmedabad, Dholera SIR (Special Investment Region), upcoming Dholera Airport, and Lothal National Maritime Heritage Complex (NHMC)," according to an official statement.
"Connecting Ahmedabad with Dholera will cut down passenger travel time, enabling comfortable daily commuting and same-day return trips. This semi-high-speed railway would not only bring two cities closer but also bring the people living hundreds of kilometers away closer to each other," it said.
Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat is a greenfield industrial smart city, envisioned as a global hub for manufacturing, innovation, and urban living.
Addressing mediapersons, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Ahmedabad-Dholera corridor is part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and that the semi-high-speed rail line will boost development across the region.
He said the train will have a design speed of 220 kmph and an operational speed of 200 kmph.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.