Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced a sweeping connectivity upgrade for Andhra Pradesh, with railway projects worth approximately ₹1,06,000 crore currently underway across the state. The centrepiece is a proposed High-Speed Rail network anchored by two bullet train corridors originating from Amaravati, forming part of what the Minister described as a “High-Speed Diamond” spanning major southern corridors.
The network targets dramatically reduced intercity travel times, Amaravati to Hyderabad in approximately 70 minutes, Amaravati to Chennai in 112 minutes, Hyderabad to Pune in 115 minutes, and Hyderabad to Bengaluru in 128 minutes. Andhra Pradesh has received a record railway budget allocation of ₹10,134 crore, against ₹886 crore allocated to the combined Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in earlier years.
On the ground, 1,759 km of track has been completed with 3,300 km under construction, 832 flyovers and underpasses commissioned with 299 more underway, and 74 stations undergoing full redevelopment. The state has also achieved 100 per cent railway electrification, while the entire East Coast Railway Corridor is being upgraded to a four-line network to enable up to 500 additional train services. Sixteen Vande Bharat and 22 Amrit Bharat trains currently serve the state.
