Hans News Service Hyderabad

Cana project involving the launch of three bullet trains be grounded on schedule if the administration moves like the Nilgiri Mountain Railway passenger train, also known as the Ooty Toy Train?

That seems to the crux of the issue relating to the proposed bullet train corridors connecting Hyderabad to Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, positioning Hyderabad as a major national high-speed rail hub.

For context, the Telangana Cabinet has already approved the revised alignments and land allocations for the three proposed bullet train corridors. The Cabinet cleared the allocation of 400 acres of land near Shamshabad for a central station and depot. The three routes form a core part of the Union government’s expanded high-speed rail framework, covering over 500 km across Telangana out of a total 2,028 km network length for these specific southern/western paths.

The Union Government is expediting the completion of the DPRs and land acquisitions for bullet train terminals and alignments. The bullet train project connecting Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai was announced recently.

However, the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) is not happy with the slow pace of land acquisition in view of hurdles, including resistance from local people. The NHSRC, on its part, is moving fast. It has sought the state government’s help for expeditious land acquisition. The corporation has been enquiring about the hurdles faced by the state government in acquiring 400 acres of land near Shamshabad for the common high-speed rail station and rolling stock depot.Although the state administration has been directed to expedite land acquisition, officials concerned said that the government has been facing formidable challenges to complete the land acquisition due to local factors.

Court directions and resistance by local people against the land acquisition could stall the process if the state government does not address the issue expeditiously.

Now, the major challenge is to realign the bullet train track and station locations if the land acquisition is not completed in a time-bound manner. Farmers have already raised objections over land acquisition at Bahadurguda, where the government proposed to acquire 500 acres of land for a bullet train hub. State officials have been told: “The Union government will not give a clearance to the realignment of the bullet train routes unless the land acquisition is completed. The state government has to resolve the land issue to ensure the approval of the bullet train projects by the Centre immediately”.

It is learnt that environmental issues are also creating trouble for laying bullet train tracks alongside the Vikarabad forest area. The demand for realignment of the Hyderabad – Chennai bullet train has already been raised in the old Nalgonda district.

Ministers and opposition leaders from BRS and BJP are demanding bullet train route in their Assembly segments. All these issues should be resolved before finalising the alignment of the bullet train between Hyderabad and Chennai.