NEW DELHI: Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the north corridor of the bullet train project, which is expected to transform the lives of many people.Vaishnaw said the construction work, from pillars to girders, would be carried out in India, emphasising the project’s ‘Make in India‘ focus.“The construction is progressing rapidly. It will be fully ‘Make in India’, built by the youth and welders of India,” he said, news agency PTI reported.Speaking before flagging off the new Vande Bharat Sleeper Express services between Varanasi and New Delhi, Vaishnaw said, “The Prime Minister has approved the north corridor of the bullet train, which will change the lives of many.”“The vision for the bullet train shared by the prime minister will greatly benefit the youth, the middle-income group, and artisans in small-scale industries. People will remember Prime Minister Modi for the next 100 years for this initiative,” he further added.He said the north corridor would connect Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna and Siliguri, and extend to Guwahati, PTI reported.According to Vaishnaw, the project will significantly reduce travel time.The journey from Delhi to Kanpur will take 1 hour and 45 minutes, while the Delhi-Agra journey will take 59 minutes and Delhi-Lucknow will take 2 hours and 12 minutes.The journey from Lucknow to Varanasi will take 1 hour and 21 minutes, while the Varanasi-Delhi trip will take 3 hours and 35 minutes.(With agency inputs)
