Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced seven new high-speed railway corridors during her Budget speech on Sunday, February 1, 2026. She called them "growth connectors". The corridors will connect Mumbai to Pune, Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Chennai, Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Chennai to Bengaluru, Delhi to Varanasi, and Varanasi to Siliguri. Ms. Sitharaman said the move aims to develop an environmentally sustainable passenger system. This Budget is notable as the first-ever to be presented on a Sunday in India. Despite Kerala’s budget hinting at a semi-high-speed rail from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur, the Union Budget did not mention it. The Kerala project remains highly awaited but was not included. The announced corridors will help connect major cities and support greener transport across the country.