Mumbai: India’s first bullet train, the 508 km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail, is one of the most awaited, most talked-about and ambitious transport infrastructure projects. The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL) on October 4 invited the bids for track work of Package T 1- the section in Maharashtra and the third and final track installation package.
The 1.1 lakh crore project, with delayed deadlines and inflated cost is finally gaining pace. With the progress, let's take a look at India's first bullet train's master plan, operational details and project updates.
WATCH | 210-Meter Long Bridge Completed Over NH-48 for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project#Ahmedabad#BulletTrain#Mumbaipic.twitter.com/KKfFBFwg6a
— Free Press Journal (@fpjindia) October 4, 2024
Delayed Construction
The construction of India's first bullet train project began in 2020, years after PM Narendra Modi announced it. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is funding the construction of the high-speed rail line. Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited Japan last month to sort out issues delaying the ambitious project amid escalating costs.
Howevern, the NHSRCL achieved a milestone on October 1 after the completion of the second 210-meter-long Prestressed Concrete bridge- a crucial part of the bullet train corridor, which will revolutionize high-speed rail travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The bridge is located at Sisodra village in Navsari district, Gujarat.
In March, NHSRCL said that all civil contracts have been awarded in Gujarat and Maharashtra. NHSRCL highlighted that it achieved a 'remarkable milestone' with the completion of the first 350-metre-long and 12.6-wide mountain tunnel in Gujarat’s Valsad district in just 10 months.
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Project Highlights & Stations
India's first Bullet Train project spanning Maharashtra (155.76 km), Gujarat (384.04 km), and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (4.3 km) was scheduled to be completed by 2023. However, the Railway Minister in February announced that a 50km stretch between Surat to Bilimoria is expected to open in August 2026. NHSRCL plans to operationalise the section between Vadodara and Vapi by 2027, aiming for complete project delivery by the second half of 2028.
The bullet train connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad will consist of 12 stations on route, with eight stations in Gujarat and four in Maharashtra. The stops will be at Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora, Vapi, Boisar, Virar, Thane and Mumbai.
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Dive deep into the progress of the 21 km-long tunnel for the Bullet Train project. So far, more than 200 meters of the tunnel have been excavated from the Shilphata end using NATM technology. pic.twitter.com/dKEGkms426
— NHSRCL (@nhsrcl) October 1, 2024
However, the first Shinkansen E5 bullet train meant to ply at speeds up to 320 km per hour will take at least two years to arrive from Japan and orders will be placed at the end of this year, reports say. The fare structure is yet to be finalized but is expected to be 1.5 times the existing first class AC fare on the Indian Railways’ current service, reports suggest.
Operational Plan
On completion, the high-speed trains on Mumbai-Ahmedabad will operate at a speed of 320 Km/hr covering a distance 508 Km and 12 Stations. There will be 35 trains per day/one direction, with a frequency of 20 mins in peak hours and 30 mins in non-peak hours, informs the NHSRCL website. The entire journey will be completed in about 2 hours 7 minutes with limited stops (at Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad) and all stops service will take 2 hours 58 minutes.
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NHSRCL aims to serve up to 17,900 passengers per day in each direction initially, which will be subsequently increased to 92,900 passengers per day in each direction by the year 2053.
The Operations Control Centre for the bullet train corridor will be located at Sabarmati.