The second bullet train from Delhi to Varanasi -- a distance of 782 km -- could complete the journey in just two hours and 40 minutes. The project connecting the capital to Varanasi, which will pass through Lucknow, has been fast-tracked.
The Delhi-Varanasi stretch will pass through Aligarh, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow and Sultanpur.
The interim report by a Spanish firm, which is conducting the feasibility study of the high-speed rail corridor, is likely to submit its final report in November 2016.
The preliminary cost being worked out, without rolling stock, is estimated to be about Rs 43,000 crore for the Delhi-Varanasi stretch and around Rs 84,000 crore for the entire Delhi-Kolkata corridor.