India is on its way to get its second bullet train, which will run from New Delhi to Amritsar via Chandigarh on broad gauge. Ahead of 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the government has fast-tracked its ambitious plan to operate bullet train from Delhi to Varanasi, PM Modi’s constituency.

The first bullet train of the country, which has already been approved, will run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and is expected to be in operation by 2023. This bullet train is expected to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to 2 hours as compared to the present 7 hour-journey.

And the second bullet train of India, which will be completed by 2024, is expected to cover the 782 km journey in just two hours and 40 minutes, according to a pre-feasibility report submitted to the railway ministry. Currently, the trains running on this route take around 10 to 14 hours to complete the journey.

Hence, the second bullet train project, which will cost Rs 1 lakh crore and run on the standard broad gauge, will thus give a tough competition to the country’s first bullet train corridor.

A Spanish firm is conducting a survey to ascertain the feasibility of the project and it is likely to submit its report in November. However, as of now, there are no official details about when will the project start.

Here are some of the salient features of the India’s second Bullet Train project:

• The proposed train, running at a speed of 300-350 kmph, will reduce travel time between New Delhi and Amritsar by about 3:30 hours. The train will reduce travel time between Delhi and Lucknow (506 km) to a measly 1 hour 45 minutes, while the travel time between Delhi and Kolkata (1,513 km) will be reduced to just 4 hours 56 minutes.
• The Delhi-Varanasi stretch will pass through Aligarh, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow and Sultanpur.
• The preliminary cost of the project has been estimated to be a whopping Rs. 43,000 crore for just the Delhi-Varanasi stretch, while the entire corridor from Delhi to Kolkata, may cost Rs. 84,000 crore.
• The report has given an 8-year timeline for completion of the project.