India's infra push cuts travel time across key routes: From Delhi-Mumbai to Katra-Srinagar
The introduction of Vande Bharat trains further enhances rail travel efficiency, showcasing significant advancements in connectivity nationwide.
India's infrastructure development is significantly reducing travel times on key routes, according to a recent factsheet from the Public Information Bureau (PIB). The expanding network of bridges, tunnels, expressways, and faster trains is replacing longer, difficult routes and river crossings with direct connections. This is evident in several examples across the country.
For instance, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway aims to cut the road journey between the two cities from 33 hours to about 12 hours. The 82-km Delhi-Meerut Expressway has already reduced travel time from around 2.5 hours to about 50 minutes, while the 118-km Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway has shortened the journey from nearly three hours to about 75 minutes.
In Himachal Pradesh, the recently developed 213-km Atal Tunnel bypassing the Rohtang Pass has shortened the Manali-Sarchu distance by 46 km and saved four to five hours of travel. The 8.45-km Banihal-Qazigund twin-tube tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir saves around 1.5 hours.
On the railway front, 549 trains were speeded up in the 2026 railway timetable, with 20 trains gaining 60 minutes or more in travel time. The newer Vande Bharat trains, launched in 2019, are around 40-50% faster than earlier services. For example, the Katra-Srinagar service has reduced the journey to about three hours.
Several bridge projects have also transformed connectivity in regions with rivers and difficult terrain. The Bhupen Hazarika Setu in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has reduced travel time from six hours to one hour, saving about five hours. The Bogibeel Bridge over the Brahmaputra has transformed connectivity between Dhemaji and Dibrugarh, cutting travel time from almost a day to about one to two hours.
The infrastructure push extends to high-speed rail corridors, with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor expected to reduce travel time from eight to nine hours by road to about 1 hour 58 minutes. Seven additional high-speed rail corridors are planned, spanning nearly 4,000 km with an estimated investment of ₹16 lakh crore.
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