Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her Budget speech, announced seven high-speed rail corridors, which will connect five South Indian states among others, and will be developed at a total cost of ₹16 lakh crore. Read: Union Budget 2026 LIVE updatesThe corridors will reduce travel time between Chennai to Bengaluru to 1.5 hours, Bengaluru to Hyderabad to 2 hours, Hyderabad to Chennai to 2 hours and 55 minutes. At a press conference, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained that with five South Indian States interlinked, the announcement will serve as a growth multiplier for them. These corridors will be of 4000 km in length, and be developed at an outlay of ₹16 lakh crore. Allocation to state-owned National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been increased to ₹1.87 lakh crore from last year’s ₹1.70 lakh crore.

Source: The Hindu February 01, 2026 12:43 UTC