Cabinet approves India's first semi high-speed rail — Ahmedabad to Dholera

The CCEA cleared the 134 km Sarkhej–Dholera double line for ₹20,667 crore — Indian Railways’ first semi high-speed project, linking Ahmedabad to Dholera SIR, the new airport and Lothal.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Ahmedabad (Sarkhej)–Dholera Semi High-Speed Double Line — a ₹20,667 crore project of the Ministry of Railways, and Indian Railways’ first semi high-speed line, planned with indigenously developed technology.

The 134 km route runs through Ahmedabad district and is engineered for 220 kmph speed potential along the Ahmedabad–Dholera Expressway corridor. It originates at Sabarmati, integrating high-speed rail, metro and conventional railway, and threads through Gandhigram, Sarkhej, Lothal Road and the Dholera Airport terminal before reaching Dholera and Bavaliyari. Target completion is 2030-31.

What it does for the corridor is connect the pieces. The line ties Ahmedabad to the Dholera Special Investment Region, the upcoming Dholera International Airport and the Lothal National Maritime Heritage Complex — cutting passenger travel time enough to make daily commuting and same-day return trips workable. Planned under the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan, it is meant to enhance connectivity for roughly 284 villages and about 5 lakh people.

As India’s first semi high-speed project, it is positioned as a reference model for phased rollout across the country. The Railways being an energy-efficient mode of transport, the line is also projected to cut oil imports by about 0.48 crore litres and lower CO2 emissions by around 2 crore kg — equivalent to planting 10 lakh trees.

For anyone weighing a plot, this is the fourth connectivity anchor falling into place alongside the expressway, the airport and the freight line — Dholera being wired to Ahmedabad not by one route, but by several.

Source: Press Information Bureau.