HYDERABAD: The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has significantly revised the alignment of the proposed Hyderabad-Chennai High Speed Rail Corridor.
The new route cuts the corridor length in Telangana from 236 km to 123 km and passes through areas identified for the state government's Future City and Dry Port projects.
Officials said NHSRCL informed the Telangana government about the revised alignment and the shorter route. The changes support the state's development priorities and improve integration with planned infrastructure projects, as reported by DC.
Under the original proposal, the bullet train corridor would have started at Shamshabad and passed through Batasingaram, Narketpally, Suryapet and Khammam before entering Andhra Pradesh. NHSRCL is now surveying a new alignment that runs from Shamshabad through Future City, the proposed Dry Port, Halia and Vadapalli.
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The Hyderabad-Chennai High Speed Rail Corridor will start in Telangana, pass through Andhra Pradesh and end in Tamil Nadu. The earlier alignment required the acquisition of nearly 790 hectares of land in Telangana. The revised route reduces the corridor length in the state by almost 50%.
Stations planned on revised route
NHSRCL has proposed four bullet train stations in Telangana - Future City, Dry Port, Halia and Vadapalli. Three of them - Dry Port, Halia and Vadapalli - will come up in Nalgonda district.
Sources said the Telangana government requested NHSRCL to route the corridor through the Future City-Vadapalli belt. The corporation has already begun surveys along the new alignment.
A dedicated station at the proposed Dry Port is one of the major features of the revised plan. The state government has been pushing the dry port project to strengthen export-import logistics in the landlocked state.
The dry port will serve as an inland logistics hub where operators can store, load and unload cargo linked to seaports. Authorities also plan to provide customs clearance facilities. Officials believe the high-speed rail station will improve connectivity and boost logistics operations in the region.
Connectivity details
The proposed Dry Port station will come up about 12 km from National Highway-19 and around 15 km from Mall village in Nalgonda district. Mall village lies on the border of Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts and falls under Chinthapally and Yacharam mandals.
The proposed Halia station will be located near State Highway-167, around 10 km from the Halia mandal headquarters. Miryalaguda railway station, about 35 km away, will be the nearest rail link. Nalgonda town lies around 55 km from the station site.
The proposed Vadapalli station will be located about 15 km from State Highway-167. It lies nearly 33 km from Halia and around 60 km from Miryalaguda.
Shamshabad to become operational hub
Shamshabad will also emerge as the operational hub for southern India's high-speed rail network.
NHSRCL initially proposed a bullet train station directly opposite the Hyderabad airport terminal to allow seamless transfers between air and rail passengers. However, GMR Airports informed authorities that it plans future airport expansion in front of the terminal building.
As a result, passengers may need to travel 3 km to 4 km between the airport terminal and the high-speed rail station. Authorities are preparing plans for a monorail link to bridge the gap.
NHSRCL has also told the state government that it will establish the Operational Control Centre and the main maintenance depot at Shamshabad.
The facility will serve as the central control hub for proposed high-speed rail services connecting Hyderabad with Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune. The project will strengthen Shamshabad's role in India's expanding bullet train network in southern India.