Ayodhya, which is all set to be catapulted on to the world tourist map, will soon have a high-speed train between Delhi and Ayodhya. The superfast train will cut the travel time to just three hours between Delhi and the holy city.

Anoop Kumar Agarwal, executive director of National High Speed Rail Corporation, visited Ayodhya last week to finalise the site for the railway station.

He said that there is a "plan to directly connect the city of Lord Ram with the national capital". An aerial survey has been done and the plan has also been approved by the Centre.

A 130km railway track will be laid connecting Ayodhya to Lucknow, which will be part of the 941.5km high-speed railway corridor linking Delhi to Varanasi via Agra-Lucknow-Allahabad. A portion of high-speed train railway corridor may go underground in Lucknow and Agra, the official said.

"National High Speed Rail Corporation will begin work as soon as we receive a no-objection certificate from the AAI. It will take seven years for completion of the project," he added.

Keyword: Railway, Ayodhya, Delhi, High-speed train