Railway Budget 2014: Railway Minister announces Diamond Quadrilateral

One of the most ambitious projects of the Modi government is to create a diamond quadrilateral of high-speed trains in India. This is part of the new government’s infrastructure improvement plan in the country. While the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led government focused on the golden quadrilateral focusing on road networks and highways, the diamond quadrilateral of high speed trains will focus on expanding the railway system in India, which is also called the ‘backbone of India’s supply chain‘.

While the UPA government had conceptualised the western and the eastern corridors and had begun the preparatory work with the help of Japanese technology and funds, nothing much had been done in this regard. The diamond quadrilateral of high-speed trains will connect the four major metros. The prime minister has hinted at taking the support of China and Japan in fast-tracking the special train projects, as both these countries have the knowledge and experience to operate these high-speed trains.

In his maiden railway budget under Modi regime, the Union railway minister announced the decision to launch the diamond quadrilateral. The first bullet train on the high-speed network is planned between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The railway minister also announced to hike the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph on 9 different lines. The government has stated that the diamond quadrilateral project would require a total of Rs 9 lakh crore for its implementation.