₹18,000 crore, 2035 deadline: India’s third bullet train corridor takes shape

India’s third bullet train corridor, connecting Chennai and Bengaluru, has moved into its next phase with the Centre floating tenders for pre-construction activity on the project. The tender covers the 306.2km route and directs the contractor to work on an updated alignment for a corridor that currently has eight stations, including three in Tamil Nadu: Chennai Central, Poonamalle and Parandur.

The project carries an estimated cost of close to ₹18,000 crore, though the final figure will only be confirmed once the contractor submits a revised alignment study. It is targeted for completion by 2035, and once running, the bullet train is expected to travel at 350kmph, cutting the Chennai-Bengaluru journey to under an hour — down from roughly seven hours currently by road.

Under the terms of reference, the first station will be built on the western side of Chennai Suburban Railway Station, connected to Chennai Central and its metro station through 100-metre and 50-metre linkages. The corridor then runs elevated through Perambur, Kolathur, ICF, Madhavaram, Padi, the Chennai Bypass and Chennai-Thiruvallur Highway, before continuing via Annanur, Poonamalle and Arakkonam, and joining the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway alignment through Chittoor, Kolar, Kodihalli and White Field to Baiyappanahalli in Bengaluru.

Three tunnels are planned along the way — a 1.7km stretch at Chennai Central, an 11.8km tunnel through the Kaundinya wildlife sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh, and a 14.7km tunnel under Bengaluru — together accounting for about 28km of underground track out of the total 306km. The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited had originally proposed a full station at Parandur, but the latest tender lists it only as a ‘future station’, with the rest of the stations marked as ‘stop stations’.

Land acquisition is currently under way in 41 villages along the route, according to officials, who said a station will still be planned to serve Kancheepuram, Arakkonam and Sriperambudur depending on airport connectivity, irrespective of whether the Parandur station is eventually built. The tender additionally requires the Indian Railways to coordinate with the National Highways Authority of India on connectivity with the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway (NE-7).

The Chennai-Bengaluru line joins the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Varanasi corridors as the third bullet train project currently under construction in India.

Image credit: Ministry of Railways / GODL-India.