High Speed trains to Chennai !
The Chennai-Coimbatore sector has been identified for establishing an exclusive corridor to operate high-speed trains (HST). To be developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, the corridor will facilitate operation of trains at a speed of 300-350 kmph. According to a railway source, a few corporate companies had expressed interest in investing in the Chennai-Coimbatore sector that would be taken up in Phase I. Other routes identified are Chennai-Madurai, Chennai-Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram-Calicut."The railway is focussing on high-speed inter-city trains that is the most profitable segment of passenger business. HST provides the highest safety for passengers, as there have been hardly any accidents on such exclusive corridors world-over. Migration of traffic to rail will boost the nation's economy since it directly helps in energy conservation," a senior railway official said.
The facility , aimed at upgrading passenger mobility in the country on a par with international standards, would be introduced one each in north, south, eastern and western regions to cover a maximum of 600 km. "Since electrification already exists on the Chennai-Coimbatore sector, it would be easy to establish the corridor " he said.
