JICA to study Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor

Railways have signed an MoU with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for conducting a detailed study for running bullet train on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.
There will be a joint study with JICA for exploring the possibilities of running train at 300 km per hour speed on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
Estimated to cost about Rs 63,000 crore, the 534-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is expected to be the first corridor to be explored for the Railways' ambitious bullet project.
The detailed study will examine traffic pattern, alignment surveys, prospective travellers, cost and other factors concerning the project.
The cost of the study will be shared equally by both India and Japan and the it will be completed in 18 months.

Considered a key infrastructure project, the Prime Minister's Office is also monitoring the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project.

The project is likely to be executed on PPP model where state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat are expected to be stakeholders along with railways.
Earlier a pre-feasibility was conducted on the route by the French consultancy firm Systra and RITES. "The Japanese study will be of more details this time," the official said.
A joint monitoring committee comprising officials of both the countries shall be established.
Senior officials from Railways, Planning Commission, Finance Ministry and External Affairs Ministry and representatives from JICA and Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will be part of the committee, the official said.

Besides Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Railways has identified six routes for conducting pre-feasibility study for high speed corridors including Delhi-Agra-Patna, Howrah-Haldia, Chennai- Bangalore-Thiruvananthapuram and Delhi-Amritsar.