Explore Business Standard
Bullet Train
The 50-km stretch of India's first bullet train project between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat will open in 2027, and by 2029, the entire section between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be operational, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Saturday. After becoming operational, the bullet train will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just two hours and seven minutes, he said, stressing that India's first bullet train project is progressing very well. Vaishnaw visited the under-construction Surat bullet train station and inspected track installation works and its first turnout installation. "Overall progress of the first bullet train project is very good. The first 50-km section of the project between Surat and Bilimora will be open by 2027. We are preparing for that. By 2028, the entire Thane-Ahmedabad section will be commissioned, and by 2029, the entire Mumbai-Ahmedabad section will open," he told reporters. Vaishnaw stated that the speed potential of the main li
A breakthrough was achieved for a 4.88 km-long tunnel between Shilphata and Ghansoli for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project on Saturday morning in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Calling it a "landmark achievement", Vaishnaw, who initiated the breakthrough of the tunnel, said that the first phase of the high-speed corridor on the Surat-Bilimora section will start in December 2027. Talking to reporters in Ghansoli near Mumbai, the minister said that the bullet train will be the "transport for the middle class", and the fares will be "reasonable". He said that the Google Maps app shows the journey time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad as nine hours, but people will be able to cover the distance in two hours and seven minutes on the bullet train. The first phase of the bullet train project will be first launched on the Surat-Bilimora section in 2027, covering Thane in 2028 and the Bandra Kurla Complex in 2029, Vaishnaw said. "The services are designed such that
The Bandra Kurla Complex station, the only underground stop on the 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, has reached the final stage with the completion of 84 per cent of the excavation work, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said on Saturday. There are 12 stations on the entire corridor, and Bandra Kurla Complex station will cater to the people of Mumbai. Updating the current status of its ongoing construction work, the NHSRCL said excavation for the said work is being done till a depth of 32.50 metres (approx 106 ft) from the ground level, which is equivalent to a 10-storey building. "Excavation work is nearing completion as 84 per cent of it is over now," officials said, clarifying that once the digging is complete, the mountainous task of developing world-class infrastructure will be taken up. They added that the platform is planned at a depth of 26 metres from the ground level and there will be three floors, including platform, concourse and
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said India's first bullet train service will commence very soon, and it will cut the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to two hours and seven minutes. The Union minister was at Bhavnagar terminus from where he virtually flagged off the Ayodhya Express, Rewa-Pune Express, and Jabalpur-Raipur Express, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers Mohan Yadav and Vishnu Deo Sai respectively. "The first bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will start very soon, and the work on the project is going on at a fast pace. When it starts running, the journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will take only two hours and seven minutes," Vaishnaw said. India's first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will span 508 kilometres. It will start from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area in Mumbai, and connect to Gujarat's Vapi, Surat, Anand, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, running at a high speed of 320 km per hour. Addressing a gathering here, the Union ...
Work in the Gujarat portion of the bullet train corridor between Vapi and Sabarmati is planned to be completed by December 2027 and the entire project from Maharashtra to the Sabarmati section is expected to be over by December 2029, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Providing an update on the country's most ambitious project after some members asked questions regarding the status of its construction, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 km) is under execution with technical and financial assistance from Japan. It is passing through Gujarat, Maharashtra and Dadra & Nagar Haveli with 12 stations planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati, he added. "The Gujarat portion of the corridor between Vapi and Sabarmati is planned to be completed by Dec, 2027. The entire project (Maharashtra to Sabarmati section) is expected to be completed by Dec, 2029," ...
With the launch of a 40 metre-long girder near Surat in Gujarat, 300 km of viaducts for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been completed, the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) said on Tuesday. According to the NHSRCL, of the 300 km of the superstructure, 257.4 km is constructed through the Full Span Launching Method (FSLM), including 14 river bridges, 37.8 km through Span by Span (SBS), 0.9 km of steel bridges (10 spans ranging from 60 to 130 m in 7 bridges), 1.2 km PSC bridges (20 spans ranging from 40 to 80 metres in 5 bridges) and 2.7 km in station building. Besides the viaducts, 383 km of pier work, 401 km of foundation and 326 km of girder casting has been completed for the 508-km bullet train project, the agency said. FSLM has significantly accelerated construction, as full-span girder erection is up to 10 times faster than conventional segmental methods, NHSRCL said. Each full-span box girder weighs 970 metric tonnes, and segmental girders are used ..
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that the work to construct the bullet train's origin station at BKC in Mumbai is progressing rapidly. Vaishnaw visited the under-construction underground station at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and reviewed its on-ground progress. He was accompanied by officials from the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is executing the over 500 km-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, along with representatives from Central Railway and Western Railway. He said the lowest B3 basement level and the strengthening of the station walls have been completed. "The work at the bullet train's origin station in BKC is progressing very fast. The station wall work has been started, and simultaneously, the tunnel work is progressing very fast," the Railway Minister told reporters. Beyond the tunnel portion (Shil Phata), all ongoing works are moving at a high speed in the Maharashtra section following the land acquisition, he ...
China on Sunday unveiled an updated model of its high-speed bullet train which its manufacturer claims reached speeds of 450 kmph during the test runs, making it the world's fastest high-speed train. According to the China State Railway Group Co (China Railway), the new model, known as the CR450 prototype, will further shorten travel time and improve connectivity, making travel more convenient and efficient for the country's vast passengers. The CR450 prototype reached a test speed of 450 kmph, with key performance indicators operational speed, energy consumption, interior noise, and braking distance setting a new international benchmark, official media here reported. It is significantly faster than the CR400 Fuxing high-speed rail (HSR) currently in service, which operates at speeds of 350 kmph, a report by state-run Xinhua said. China Railway will arrange a series of line tests for the prototypes and optimise technical indicators to ensure the CR450 enters commercial service as
The orders for three tunnel boring machines to carry out about 21 km under sea tunneling for the Bullet Train project have been placed, the government informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Friday while updating the status of infrastructure projects in Maharashtra. Construction works on the flagship high speed bullet train project have gathered momentum in Maharashtra. Now 100% land acquisition has been completed. Works of bridges, aqueducts etc. have been taken up, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Meanwhile, all preparatory works required for the working of TBMs (tunnel boring machines) such as construction of shafts etc. have also been taken up, he added. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut wanted to know whether the government has reduced funding for new railway lines in Maharashtra in recent years, the critical rail projects which have been delayed due to reduction in funding and the steps taken by the government to mitigate potential delays in railway projects to ensu
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inspected a track slab manufacturing factory for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project near Surat in Gujarat. Vaishnaw said all the equipment at the factory in Kim was initially brought from Japan before their manufacturing was started in India, which will be beneficial for upcoming construction projects. "This factory at Kim is the largest in India and one of the largest track slab factories in the world. The workers have a very high skill level here. Those engaged in validation, test and check also have a very high skill level, and they have maintained very good standards," Vaishnaw told mediapersons after the visit. He said the experience in manufacturing equipment in India after initially bringing them from Japan will benefit future construction projects. The track slab manufacturing factory, set up near Surat to support India's first bullet train project, is designed to produce high-capacity ballast-less track slabs using ...
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Friday said the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project will prove to be a corridor of economic prosperity, transforming towns and cities along the route and becoming a learning experience for future initiatives. Vaishnaw triggered a blast to build a shaft at Vikhroli to lower tunnel boring machines (TBM) for the construction of the 21-km underground tunnel, which is considered to be a technological marvel of India's first bullet train project. "Trains will zip through the tunnel at a maximum speed of up to 320 km. Constructing it without disturbing the tall buildings in the area is a challenge," the railway minister said. The shaft at the Vikhroli site of the National High Speed Rail Corridor is one among the four to be built for the entire 21-km-long underground stretch of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project. The shaft-2 will be used to launch two TBMs -- one towards the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) station's east end and the other towards Sawl
Do states have a case against the Centre on fiscal transfers? How can India rejig the PLI scheme? Is there more room for downside in small-caps? What are the key features of the bullet train corridor?