The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved India’s first semi-high-speed railway corridor capable of running at 220 kmph, linking Sarkhej in Ahmedabad with the Dholera Special Investment Region. The double-line project, cleared at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, covers 134 km and is estimated to cost Rs 206,670 million (mn).

Railways officials indicated that services on the corridor will cut travel time between Sarkhej and Dholera to around 34 minutes and that the alignment is intended to provide faster commuter and freight connectivity. The route will be broad gauge and fully double tracked to support frequent operations.

The alignment has been designed for a maximum speed of 220 kmph and an operational speed of 200 kmph to allow sustained higher velocity travel than on current mixed-traffic routes. The new section will link Ahmedabad, Dholera SIR, the planned Dholera Airport and the Lothal National Maritime Heritage Complex, improving direct rail access to logistics and tourism nodes.

Dholera SIR is a greenfield industrial smart city intended as a global manufacturing and innovation hub, and the corridor forms part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. Authorities have set a target of completion within four years to integrate Dholera with the wider railway network at Sarkhej and to support planned airport and port infrastructure.

Railway sources said the corridor will be the first developed entirely with indigenously developed technology and may serve as a benchmark for similar projects. The scheme was placed alongside existing semi-high-speed ambitions driven by the Vande Bharat services, with over 100 trainsets operational by early 2026 running at speeds of 160–180 kmph. Planners indicated that a dedicated corridor should allow design speeds to be realised more consistently than on mixed-traffic routes.