PM Gati Shakti: Aviation and Railway Ministries Join Forces To Expedite Rail Access For Three Upcoming Airports

The aviation and railway ministries are working together to accelerate rail connectivity to three upcoming airports — Noida, Navi Mumbai, and Dholera — as part of the PM GatiShakti scheme, as reported by Business Standard.

Under this plan, the completion of the Delhi-Jewar segment of the Delhi-Varanasi high-speed rail project will be expedited to connect Noida airport. Additionally, a railway station and tracks will be constructed for Navi Mumbai airport by December 2024, and a station and railway line will be created near Dholera airport.

According to the BS report, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have been collaborating on these projects in recent months.

Scindia wrote a letter to Vaishnaw on 8 May, requesting rail linkages for the three airports.

On 10 July, the two ministers agreed that the railway ministry would provide project timelines based on the airports' masterplans and share them with the aviation ministry.

Scindia's letter highlighted the identification of Noida and Dholera airports as "high-impact projects" under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan. Additionally, the Navi Mumbai airport was noted for its strategic location and potential.

The Navi Mumbai International Airport, a greenfield airport, currently under development is designed to accommodate 90 million passengers annually and is expected to be completed by December 2024.

The Adani group is responsible for the construction of the Navi Mumbai airport, while Zurich Airport International is leading the development of the Noida airport.

According to Scindia's letter, the Noida International Airport (NIA) is nearing completion and is expected to begin trials and commercial operations by the end of 2024.

Furthermore, plans are underway to connect Jewar to Delhi and Varanasi through a high-speed rail project initiated by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) in 2023-24.

The NHSRCL will finalise the corridor alignment and the location of the High-Speed Rail (HSR) station, which will be constructed within the airport complex.

The minister emphasised the need to prioritise and expedite the construction of the Delhi-Jewar section of the HSR line between Delhi and Varanasi.

Upon the completion of phase 1 construction by December of next year, the Noida airport will have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers annually. This capacity will eventually increase to 70 million passengers per year once all four phases of the airport's development are finished.

Currently in the early planning stages, the Delhi-Varanasi HSR project aims to establish a rail corridor that will also connect the airport to other significant cities such as Ayodhya and Prayagraj, under a total travel time around two to three hours, as reported by Swarajya.

Further, the AAI is currently constructing the Dholera airport within the Ahmedabad-Dholera industrial zone. This project is part of the development plan for the area.

As part of the airport project, a railway line will also be developed along the expressway. The construction of the airport is progressing well and is expected to be completed by December 2025, according to Scindia.

Railway officials have stated that the work on building the track infrastructure near Dholera airport will commence soon. They are confident that it will be completed within the proposed deadline.

According to officials, while the railway projects will be expedited the as part of PM GatiShakti, it is acknowledged that the 2024 deadline for two of the three projects may be challenging, as the planning, tendering, and construction processes may extend beyond 2024.