Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan will serve as the national capital’s terminal for the upcoming Delhi–Varanasi high-speed rail corridor, senior officials aware of the development have said. The station will come up at the Nizamuddin–Sarai Kale Khan multimodal transit hub, strengthening its position as the city’s first integrated transport centre.
The corridor is among seven new high-speed rail lines announced in the Union Budget 2026–27. Spanning around 813 kilometres, the Delhi–Varanasi route is aimed at connecting major cities along the stretch. The Railway Board has asked the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) to update the detailed project report (DPR) in line with the latest plans.
Influence zone plan to be amended
Officials said the Influence Zone Plan (IZP) for the Sarai Kale Khan area will be revised to incorporate the proposed high-speed rail station. A high-powered committee is reviewing the transit-oriented development node for the Nizamuddin–Sarai Kale Khan hub.
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"The proposed Delhi high speed railway station at Sarai Kale Khan, multimodal integration (MMI) and other required data like the projected ridership data and alignments have been shared by NHSRCL but in the last meeting, the corridor had not yet been sanctioned by the central government and so, the NHSRCL proposal was not included in influence zone. The plan will be amended to ensure smooth integration", Hindustan Times quoted a senior official as saying.
NHSRCL, a special purpose vehicle set up in 2016 to finance, construct and manage high-speed rail corridors in India, has shared projected ridership data, alignment details and multimodal integration inputs with the committee. Fresh details will be submitted after the DPR is updated.
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Focus on multimodal connectivity
The proposed high-speed rail station will be built near Sarai Kale Khan and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations. The area already houses the Delhi Metro, the Regional Rapid Transit System station and the Veer Hakikat Rai ISBT, making it a key interchange point.
As part of the integration plan, wider roads along the ISBT, redevelopment of the CNG station and a revised traffic circulation plan have been proposed. Dedicated foot overbridges will connect the ISBT and Hazrat Nizamuddin station, while access to the Pink Line will be provided through an entry near the RRTS station. In the long term, the PWD plans to extend the existing Ring Road flyover up to the Barapullah elevated corridor to ease traffic movement in the area.
