Hyderabad-Chennai Bullet Train Route Gets Realigned

Official sources said NHSRCL informed the state government about the reduction in project length and the updated route. The revised alignment in Telangana is expected to reduce the project length within the state and align it with the state government's development priorities, including the proposed Future City and Dry Port projects.

According to the initial proposal, the Hyderabad-Chennai bullet train corridor was to originate from Shamshabad and pass through Batasingaram, Narketpally, Suryapet and Khammam. However, the ongoing survey has altered the route, which will now run from Shamshabad through Future City, the proposed Dry Port, Halia and Vadapalli. NHSRCL is currently conducting surveys based on the revised alignment.

The Hyderabad-Chennai High Speed Rail Corridor was designed to begin in Telangana and pass through Andhra Pradesh before terminating in Tamil Nadu. Under the original alignment, the project was expected to cover 236 km within Telangana and require around 790 hectares of land acquisition. With the revised alignment, the corridor length in Telangana has been reduced to 123 km.

As part of the revised proposal, bullet train stations have been planned at four locations in Telangana — Future City, Dry Port, Halia and Vadapalli. Of these, the proposed stations at Dry Port, Halia and Vadapalli fall within the Nalgonda district.

The alignment revision is understood to have been influenced by the state government's earlier request that the Chennai High Speed Rail Corridor be routed through the Future City-Vadapalli belt. Surveys are now being conducted accordingly.

One of the notable features of the revised project is the proposal for a dedicated station at the Dry Port. Since Telangana is a landlocked state without a coastline, the government has been focusing on establishing a dry port to facilitate exports and imports. The proposed dry port will function as an inland logistics hub where cargo arriving from and destined for seaports can be stored, loaded and unloaded, while customs clearance operations can also be carried out. The inclusion of a high-speed rail station at the Dry Port is expected to support faster movement of goods and strengthen Telangana’s logistics infrastructure.

NHSRCL has also provided details to the state government regarding the connectivity and surrounding infrastructure near the proposed stations. The Dry Port station is proposed about 12 km from National Highway-19 and 15 km away from Mall village in Nalgonda district. Mall village is located on the border of Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts and falls under Chinthapally and Yacharam mandals.

The Halia station is proposed near State Highway-167 and will be approximately 10 km from Halia mandal headquarters. The nearest railway station to Halia will be Miryalaguda, located about 35 km away, while Nalgonda town is around 55 km from the proposed station. The Vadapalli station is proposed about 15 km from State Highway-167 and is located around 33 km from Halia and 60 km from Miryalaguda.

The project's operational hub is also proposed to be located at Shamshabad. NHSRCL had initially proposed a high-speed rail station in front of the terminal building of the Shamshabad International Airport to facilitate seamless transfers between air and rail passengers. However, airport operator GMR informed authorities that future expansion plans are proposed in front of the terminal. As a result, passengers arriving at the airport may need to travel approximately 3 to 4 km to reach the high-speed rail station. Plans are being prepared to provide connectivity through a monorail system.

NHSRCL has informed the Telangana government that the Operational Control Centre and the main maintenance depot for the high-speed rail network will also be established at Shamshabad. The facility is expected to serve as the central control hub for high-speed train services proposed from Hyderabad towards Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune, making Shamshabad a key operational centre for India's expanding bullet train network in southern India.