News

CCEA approves Ahmedabad-Dholera semi-high-speed rail, Rs 20,667 crore, target 2030-31

13 May 2026Confirmed

The update

On 13 May 2026 the CCEA approved the Ahmedabad-Dholera semi-high-speed rail (PIB Release ID 2260624). The confirmed figures are a cost of Rs 20,667 crore, a length of about 134 km on a double line, and a target of 2030-31. A 220 km/h top speed and a 48-minute run are press figures, not in the PIB text.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Ahmedabad-Dholera semi-high-speed rail line on 13 May 2026, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB Release ID 2260624). The sanctioned cost is Rs 20,667 crore for a roughly 134 km double-line corridor, billed as India's first semi-high-speed rail built on indigenous technology.

Confirmed via PIB: the cost, length and target year below come from the official release, which is why we tag this update Confirmed. Speed and journey-time figures do not appear in that text, so we hold them separately.

What the PIB confirmed

The release fixes three hard numbers: a cost of Rs 20,667 crore, a route length of about 134 km on a double line, and a target completion of 2030-31. The line runs from the Sarkhej area of Ahmedabad toward Dholera and is intended to connect the city and its upcoming airport into Ahmedabad's rail network.

What is reported but not in the PIB text

Press coverage adds a top speed of up to 220 km/h and a Sabarmati-to-Dholera journey of about 48 minutes. Those figures appear in news reports rather than the PIB text, so we label them reported and not confirmed, and we will update them if an official source publishes the operating speed.

Approving body: CCEA, 13 May 2026.
Cost: Rs 20,667 crore (confirmed, PIB).
Length: about 134 km, double line (confirmed).
Target: 2030-31, a target and not a delivery date.

A separate Sabarmati-Dholera metro or MRTS line has been discussed in principle, with construction reportedly eyed around 2028, but it is not sanctioned and should be treated as planned only. A Bhimnath-Dholera freight line proposed years ago under the DMIC remains long-pending with no current timeline.

What the approval changes

The value of the CCEA nod is that it moves the passenger line from proposal to sanctioned project with a budget and a target year attached. For a greenfield city that has been marketed for over a decade, a funded rail corridor to Ahmedabad is a meaningful signal, sitting alongside the expressway reported open in March 2026 and the Dholera airport reported about 80 percent complete. Read the 2030-31 date as an aim, not a promise. Big Indian rail projects commonly slip, and until track is laid the honest description is sanctioned and targeted. We will track it against official milestones rather than press timelines.

For the corridor's full route, technology and status, see our Ahmedabad-Dholera rail deep dive. For a direct answer on train access today, read is Dholera connected by train, and see how rail pairs with the new airport in our Dholera International Airport deep dive.

Sources

PIB Release ID 2260624 (CCEA approval, cost Rs 20,667 crore, ~134 km, target 2030-31).
TheMetroRailGuy, 2026 (route and project detail).
Press reports, May 2026 (up to 220 km/h and ~48 min, not in the PIB text).