MRIDC fast tracks ₹16,039-cr high-speed rail line

Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC) has fast-tracked the Pune-Nashik semi-high-speed rail link, which would bring down travel time between the two cities from 6-7 hours to less than two hours, boosting passenger and freight movement and facilitating the creation of a Mumbai-Pune-Nashik golden triangle and economic hub. Billed as the first low-cost semi-high-speed corridor in the country, the 233-km-long line would cost ₹16,039 crore and would see trains running at a speed of 200kmph, with its design allowing for an upgrade to 250kmph in the future. It would be constructed by the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC), which is a 50:50 joint venture between the Government of Maharashtra and the Railway Ministry. The state and the Centre would provide ₹3,208 crore each for the project and the rest would come from funding agencies in India and overseas.