The Indian Railways has said that it is unable to assess the completion date of the highly awaited, country’s first bullet train project because all work tenders have not been awarded yet. This was stated by the Indian Railways in an RTI reply. Chandra Shekhar Gaur from Madhya Pradesh sought the details from National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) about the estimated date for the completion of the whole project through an application under the RTI Act.

Responding to the same, the NHSRCL, which is constructing the 508 km long Mumbai-Sabarmati corridor said, “Completion date for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (MAHSRP) can be assessed after award of all tenders/packages." Initially, after the launch of the project in 2017, the stretch was scheduled to be ready by December 2023 but land acquisition issues as well as Covid delayed its progress significantly. However, the Railways Ministry has officially announced the completion of the first phase, a 50-km-long stretch between Surat and Bilimora, by August 2026.

Back in January, it also announced that 100 per cent of land was acquired for the project. In response to the RTI application, NHSRCL also said that rail tracks have not been laid yet. However, it added that by April 6, 2024,  “a total length of 157 km viaduct has been completed”. Earlier on March 28, 2024, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed on X that 295.5 km of pier work and 153 km of viaduct had been completed.

Details of the Bullet train project

“Piers are big cylindrical columns erected on the ground. Girders are placed on piers to make a viaduct. On the viaduct, a reinforced concrete track bed is placed. Then comes the precast track slab on it. The rails are fitted on the track slab with the help of fastening devices,” reported PTI, based on the statement of expert associated with the project. “Out of a total length of 508 km of the project, 465 km are on viaducts, 9,82 kms on bridges, 5,22 kms pass through mountain tunnels and 21km is underground with 7 km will be under the sea,” he added.

The train will start from Mumbai and terminate at Sabarmati via ten stations namely Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad. “Out of 508 km, 352 km falls in Gujarat and Dadar & Nagar Haveli and remaining 156 km is in Maharashtra. There are a total 12 stations out of which 8 are in Gujarat and 4 in Maharashtra,” project expert said, adding the estimated cost of the project is 1,08,000 crore.

(With PTI Inputs)

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