Lok Sabha elections 2024: BJP to focus on bullet train projects in poll manifesto, says report

In a bid to upgrade India's railway infrastructure and boost connectivity and speed, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to include a promise of multiple high-speed rail or bullet train corridors in the Lok Sabha 2024 manifesto. The party is considering including several HSR projects as a key promise for the next five years, reported Business Standard citing sources. 

Bolstering connectivity and experience of high-speed trains and new version trains like Vande Bharat Express will be one of the main focuses of the party in the coming five years, a senior party leader told the Business Daily. The saffron party is yet to release the manifesto for the general elections in 2024. 

The railway sector was also in focus in the interim budget which came in March this year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced three major railway corridors including a port connectivity corridor, energy, mineral and cement corridor and a high-traffic density corridor. She also announced the upgradation of 40,000 normal bogies to standard Vande Bharat bogies.

BJP's 2019 Lok Sabha manifesto also mentioned the expansion of high-speed trains. At present, the government is working on the 508-km-long . The project is expected to be completed in the next two years. It is expected to be inaugurated in 2026, marking the beginning of bullet trains in the country.

The project is currently in progress in Gujarat. The first bullet train in the country will operate between India and Ahmedabad. Till the beginning of 2024, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) project was 40% complete. The Gujarat part of the project was completed by 48.3%, whereas, the Maharashtra side's construction was 22.5% finished, reported Times of