The work on the first phase of India's first Bullet Train project is going on rapidly, with the Gujarat portion almost completed and the construction of the most prominent tunnel in Maharashtra beginning on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe inaugurated this project in Ahmedabad on 14 September 2017. This project has been named the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached Mumbai on Friday and started the tunnel work of the Bullet Train Project. He also shared information related to the project. On inspecting the bullet train railway project of Vikroli, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "This tunnel is 21km long, out of which 7 km of it will be undersea. The deepest point is 56 metre underwater."
"The tunnel is nearly 40 feet wide. The train will be able to move at a speed of 320km/hr inside the tunnel. Till the time the Maharashtra government was led by Uddhav Thackeray, he did not permit this project. But when Eknath Shinde assumed charge, we got a go-ahead. To speed up the process, some innovations have been made. Work is going on simultaneously from four directions. This is India's first high-speed corridor project. Our biggest aim in this project is to understand the complexity and the capability of its design. The first section of this high-speed train will open in July-August 2026 between Surat and Bilimora. The Shinkansen system is being installed in the high-speed railway project. It is one of the safest systems in the world," he added.
According to the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), under the Bullet Train Project, 100 km of viaduct has been constructed by connecting 40-meter-long full-span box girders and segment girders. A viaduct is a bridge-like structure, which connects two pillars.
Under this project, bridges are being constructed across 6 rivers of Gujarat, Par (Valsad district), Purna (Navsari district), Mindhola (Navsari district), Ambika (Navsari district), Auranga (Valsad district) and Vengania (Navsari district). Before Maharashtra, the work of breaking the first mountain tunnel in Gujarat has also been completed.
The bullet train running between Mumbai-Ahmedabad will cover a distance of 508 km in three hours. Currently, Duronto travels between the two cities in five and a half hours. The cost of Bullet Train project is Rs 1.08 lakh crore. This project is called Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR).
The maximum speed of the bullet train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route will be 350 km/hour. At present the distance between Mumbai-Ahmedabad by normal train is 7-8 hours. If the bullet train stops at 12 stations, it will complete the journey of 508 km in 3 hours. That means the average speed will be 170 km/hr.
'May complete journey in two hours'
If it stops at only 4 stations Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, it will complete the journey in two hours. In this case, the average speed will be 254 km/h. The 12 stations on this route could be Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Bhoisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. Among these, Mumbai station will be underground.
Of the 508 km route, 351 km will pass through Gujarat and 157 km will pass through Maharashtra. A total of 92 per cent i.e. 468 km long track will be elevated. The 7-km stretch in Mumbai will be under the sea. The 25 km route will pass through the tunnel. The 13 km portion will be on land. The bullet train will cross 70 highways and 21 rivers. 173 big and 201 small bridges will be built. It will start with 35 bullet trains with 10 coaches each. These trains will make 70 trips daily. 750 people will be able to sit on a bullet train. Later there will be 16 coaches for 1,200 people. There is a plan to increase the number of these trains to 105 by 2050.
According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the target has been set to run the first bullet train between Surat and Bilimora. Once this happens, India will join the elite club of 15 countries which have high-speed train network.
Reports from Mumbai with Devendra Dayalkar.
