Rising Bharat 2024 | ‘Countries Take 20 Years to Build…,’ Ashwini Vaishnaw Says Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train by 2026

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while countries take 20 years to build a 500 km project, India will complete it in 8-10 years. The service will be world-class, he assured. (Photo: News18)

The much-awaited bullet train project will be ready by 2026, with services between Surat and Bilimora, Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at the Rising Bharat Summit 2024 in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Vaishnaw said the train will not be just a mode of transportation but will connect the economies of cities between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

“It is not just a means of transportation. When it runs, it will connect the economy of all the cities around it… Mumbai, Thane, Vapi, Surat, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad will become a single economy zone… The train will be ready by 2026… The train will run first between the Surat-Bilimora section,” the minister said.

He further said while countries take 20 years to build a 500 km project, India will complete it in 8-10 years. The service will be world-class, he assured.

The bullet train will pass through Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Maharashtra. The total land required for the project is around 1,400 hectares. The total length of the bullet train corridor is divided into three states/UTs – 156 km in Maharashtra, 4 km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 384 km in Gujarat.

As per the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), executing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, 100% land has been acquired for the project across Maharashtra and Gujarat. Also, all the civil contracts have been awarded in the two states.

As of February 28, at least 143 km of girders have been launched and 289 km of pier casting have been completed.

The total cost of the MAHSR project was estimated as Rs 1 lakh crore in 2015. About 81 percent cost of the MAHSR Project is being funded by the Government of Japan and remaining cost is being provided through the Equity by the shareholders — Government of India (Ministry of Railways) (50%), Government of Gujarat (25%) and Government of Maharashtra (25%).

The work on the country’s first bullet train started in September 2017 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Japanese Prime Minister late Shinzo Abe jointly laid the foundation stone for the project.

The project was targeted to be completed by December, 2023. However, several factors are impacting the project growth, including pace of land acquisition by state government, shifting of infringing utilities, law and order situation, statutory clearances, encountering unforeseen circumstances, litigation in courts, climatic conditions and others.