The Union Budget 2026-27 lays the foundation for realising a long-aspired commuter dream — reducing the length of railway journeys between Mumbai and Pune to less than an hour, a source close to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told mid-day. At present, the journey takes approximately three and a half hours.

Backed by the substantial allocation of Rs 2,78,000 crore in the Union Budget, Railways is focusing its spending on high-speed connectivity, freight and safety, with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing new high-speed rail corridors on seven routes, including Mumbai-Pune and subsequently Hyderabad, in around an hour and 55 minutes, to boost connectivity between south and western India. These high-speed corridors will connect Mumbai and Pune, Hyderabad and Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, Chennai and Bengaluru, Delhi and Varanasi, and Varanasi, and Siliguri, she said.