High-speed train on Mumbai-Nagpur route viable: Govt

Travelling at a speed of 300 km per hour on the Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur route may not be a distant dream for train commuters as a pre-feasibility report submitted to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has said it is a viable proposition.

Travelling at a speed of 300 km per hour on the Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur route may not be a distant dream for train commuters as a pre-feasibility report submitted to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has said it is a viable proposition.

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"The report, prepared by a German company, suggests that it is viable to run the high-speed train on the 900-km long route," a senior official from Planning Department told PTI.

When the train service is launched, it would mean that the commuters can reach Pune from Mumbai in an hour and Nagpur in three hours.

Vossing, the company that was working on the report since last year, has submitted it to the Chief Minister for approval, the official said.

The report said the short routes earlier proposed for the train, like those linking the proposed greenfield airport near Panvel to Khopoli (30 km), Alibaug (60 km) and Santacruz airport (45 km) and also route between Santacruz airport to Nariman Point (18 km), Goregaon (15 km) and Kalyan (50 km) were not viable.

The distance between these routes is less and it will not be feasible for high-speed trains to stop at such short distances, the report said.