Death of distance: How Vande Bharat, bridges, tunnels and highways are drawing India’s cities closer without moving | Today’s news
India’s expanding network of bridges, tunnels, expressways and high-speed trains is dramatically changing the way people travel between major cities and remote, hard-to-reach regions.
The impact is particularly noticeable on routes where rivers, mountains, traffic jams and aging rail infrastructure have historically added hours to travel. Government figures show that several major infrastructure projects have substantially reduced both travel distances and overall travel times.
Bridges transform connectivity in challenging terrain
Bhupen Hazarika Setu, also known as Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, has greatly improved connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge has reduced the travel time between Rupai in Assam and Meka/Roing in Arunachal Pradesh from around six hours to almost one hour.
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Another major project in Assam, the Bogibeel Bridge has transformed the connectivity between Dhemaji and Dibrugarh. A journey that used to take almost a whole day can now be completed in around one to two hours.
In Mumbai, Atal Setu has brought major improvements in connectivity to Navi Mumbai. The Mumbai Trans Harbor Link has substantially reduced the travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The 21.8 km six-lane bridge includes approximately 16.5 km built across the sea.
Rail connectivity has also benefited from major bridge projects. Kosi Rail Mahasetu has reduced the journey between Nirmali and Saraigarh from nearly eight hours to just 30 minutes.
Tunnels shorten roads up hills
Tunnels play an important role in improving connectivity in mountainous areas by allowing road and rail transport to bypass difficult terrain and winding routes.
The 9.02 km long Atal tunnel has shortened the Manali-Leh route by around 46 km and will save an estimated four to five hours of travel time.
The Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel has shortened the distance on the Jammu-Srinagar route by around 30 km and reduced the travel time by almost two hours. The Banihal-Qazigund double-tube tunnel brought a further reduction of around one and a half hours.
Expressways reduce travel times
India’s expanding highway network is also reducing travel time between major urban centers.
The Delhi-Meerut Expressway has reduced the travel time between Delhi and Meerut from around two and a half hours to around 50 minutes. On the Bengaluru-Mysuru route, the journey time has been reduced from nearly three hours to around 75 minutes.
The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor has similarly reduced the journey from over six hours to around two-and-a-half hours.
Several longer expressway projects are expected to bring further reductions. The Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway is planned to reduce the Delhi-Amritsar journey from around eight hours to four hours. The Delhi-Katra journey is expected to drop from nearly 14 hours to around six hours.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is being developed to reduce the journey between the two cities from around 33 hours to around 12 hours. According to a government statement issued in February 2026, the project was to be completed by 2027.
Vande Bharat accelerates intercity rail transport
Faster trains have added another dimension to India’s efforts to reduce intercity travel time.
Vande Bharat services significantly reduced journey times on several routes. The New Delhi-Varanasi service is about 40-50 percent faster than earlier services on the route, while the Katra-Srinagar service can save two to three hours.
Other Vande Bharat routes also saw significant time savings. The Banaras-Khajuraho line cuts the journey by about two hours and 40 minutes, while the Ernakulam-Bengaluru line cuts the travel time by more than two hours.
The Vande Bharat Sleeper service between Howrah and Guwahati has also reduced the journey time from around 17 hours to around 14 hours.
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A bullet train that takes high-speed travel to another level
India’s next big transformation in intercity travel is expected to come from high-speed rail.
508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-The Speed Rail Corridor is being developed with an operating speed of 320 km/h and a design speed of 350 km/h. Once operational, the project plans to reduce the Mumbai-Ahmedabad journey to around one hour and 58 minutes.
The corridor will have 12 stations and will include an approximately 7 km long undersea railway tunnel under Thane Creek.
The government has also identified seven high-speed rail corridors covering nearly 4,000 km with an estimated investment of around ₹16 million million crowns.
The proposed high-speed rail corridors are: Delhi-Varanasi, Varanasi-Patna-Siliguri, Chennai-Bengaluru, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Chennai-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Pune and Pune-Hyderabad.
