Railways have selected a Japanese consortium to explore the possibility of running a bullet train on the Hyderabad-Chennai high speed rail corridor.

Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) and Oriental Consultancy along with Parsons Brinkhoff India has bagged the contract to conduct the pre-feasibility study on the proposed 664 km long Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Chennai route for running the high speed train, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

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Japan's high speed trains Shinkansen operate at a speed of up to 300 km per hour and are known for their punctuality, comfort, safety and efficiency.

The consortium will submit the report in seven months.  

The study is expected to cost the railways about Rs 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million).

There were a total of 13 bidders including Korean, French, British and Spanish consultants in the race to bag the southern high speed rail project.

With the selection of the Japanese consortium, railways have undertaken study of four routes for running bullet trains.

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Railways have roped in French firm Systra for Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad (650 km) route, while UK-based consultant Mott McDonald has been engaged to conduct the pre-feasibility study of the longest Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna (991 km) route. Spanish consultant Eneco has been hired to carry out studies in the shortest Howrah-Haldia (135 km) route.

Systra has submitted the report to the Railway Ministry, which is being examined now. Selection for consultants for Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar (450 km) and Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Thiruvananthapuram (869 km) high speed rail corridor will be decided shortly.

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To expedite the bullet train project, Railways is in the process of constituting the National High Speed Rail Authority on the lines of the National Highways Authority.

The draft of the National High Speed Rail Authority Bill has been sent to the Law Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Environment Ministry, Finance Ministry and Planning Commission for their views.

"The final draft of the Bill would be sent to the Cabinet for its approval before being introduced in the Budget Session of Parliament," the official said.

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According to an estimate, it will cost about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) to construct a one km dedicated high speed corridor.

As per the preliminary report, ridership revenues would be able to cover the operating cost of the project.

State governments and financial institutions are expected to be stakeholders of the high speed rail corridor project as these projects will be executed through PPP mode.

Railways plan to make the high speed rail corridor a catalyst for India's economic growth and a stimulus for the development of satellite towns.