New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed seven high-speed rail corridors and allocated Rs.2,77,830 crore to the railways ministry for capital expenditure in 2026-27, an 10.25% increase from Rs.2,52,000 crore in 2025-26.

Presenting the Union Budget, Sitharaman said, "In order to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems, we will develop seven high-speed rail corridors between cities as growth connectors..Mumbai to Pune, Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Hyderabad to Chennai, Chennai to Bengaluru, Delhi to Varanasi, Varanasi to Siliguri."

The finance minister also proposed a new dedicated freight corridor between Dankuni in West Bengal and Surat in Gujarat to promote environmentally ...