The much-anticipated Pune-Nashik semi high speed railway project in Maharashtra has been sanctioned by the Indian government. According to the Guardian Minister of Nashik, Chhagan Bhujbal, the national government has approved a proposal for the Nashik-Pune High-Speed Railway project which will enhance the development of the Nashik-Pune-Ahmednagar districts. All approvals have been received for the start of this project, and work on this high-speed railway line is being started as soon as possible, he said at a review meeting on land acquisition for the Nashik-Pune railway line held in the Collectorate's central hall. Bhujbal told the media that the project will be completed in three and a half years, including land acquisition, and that the train will travel at a speed of 200 kmph. He added that the project will not only aid in the development of three districts but will also facilitate agricultural produce transportation. He said that for this project, 1300 hectares of land will be acquired in 101 villages from these three districts with proper compensation to farmers whose lands will be acquired for the project. In addition to these three districts, a proposal will be submitted to start Igatpuri-Manmad semi-high-speed railway line, said Bhujbal. This semi-high-speed corridor will cut the travel time between the two cities from 6 hours to 1 hour and 45 minutes. The Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (MRIDC), an equal joint venture between the state and the railways, will carry out the project. The project is expected to cost Rs 16,039 crore. The corridor will be 235 km long, with passenger trains travelling at a top speed of 200 kilometres per hour and freight trains travelling at a top speed of 100 km per hour. On the route, there will be 24 stations, 18 tunnels, and 19 viaducts. It will be finished in 2024. Image SourceAlso read: India Railways records highest electrification of sections in 2020-21 Also read: Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor’s highest station set to be developed