Patna to Muzaffarpur in 40 minutes, down from 2.5 hours: Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary floats ambitious rapid rail network plan
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has said that the state government is considering improving connectivity between key cities with a reduced travel time.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsWith rapid rail charting a success story on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut route, other states like Haryana and Bihar are now increasingly taking an interest in the Namo Bharat semi high-speed train. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has said that the state government is considering improving connectivity between key cities with a reduced travel time. CM Choudhary said that rapid rail can reduce the travel time from two hours at present to 40 minutes in future.
“It takes around 1.15 hours to 1.30 hours to reach Gaya Ji from Patna. It takes around two to 2.5 hours from Patna to Muzaffarpur. We have to bring these to less than 40 minutes using metro, road and rapid rail connectivity. Likewise, we have to reduce the travel time between Patna and Rajgir and Patna and Begusarai,” said the Bihar Chief Minister.
Rapid Rail or Namo Bharat trains
Notably, the Delhi-Meerut rapid rail covers a distance of around 82 kms in less than a hour. The stations are located at every five kms. The train can run at a maximum speed of 180kmph while the operational speed is around 160kmph. Given there are no metro connectivity between major cities of Bihar and even the train services are also not at a regular frequency, people have to rely on private buses, autos and jeeps for their commute, be it a journey from Patna to Rajgir, Patna to Muzaffarpur, Patna to Motihari or Muzaffarpur to Motihari.
The Namo Bharat trains offer services at a regular interval of 10-15 minutes and provide semi-high-speed air-conditioned travel for commuters.
Bihar CM targets Rs 5 lakh cr investment
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary also announced an ambitious target of attracting investments worth nearly Rs 5 lakh crore by November 20, 2026. Speaking at the 12 Years of Trust, Development and Public Welfare media interaction organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to mark 12 years of the Union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Choudhary highlighted the NDA government's development agenda and infrastructure expansion across the state.
He stated that Bihar is rapidly emerging as an attractive destination for investors, with projects related to cement manufacturing, beverage production and data centres progressing at a fast pace. To accelerate industrial approvals, the government has fixed a 30-day deadline for granting permissions, after which approvals will reportedly be issued automatically.