‘Another significant milestone’: Railways share update on Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train project

The Ministry of Railways has said that the under-construction Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train has achieved another significant milestone. According to the Railways, the construction of all 14 portal beams over the Delhi–Mumbai Rajdhani Main Line in Vadodara has been completed successfully.

Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor, also known as the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train, spans 508 kilometres and will offer fast connectivity between Maharashtra and Gujarat states in western India and will have stops at 10 cities – Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and will terminate at Sabarmati.

The entire journey will be completed in about 2 hours 7 minutes with limited stops, which is substantially less than the time taken by trains or road journeys. The first operational stretch of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is expected to open in 2027.

The estimated cost of the project is INR 1,08,000 crore and is being executed with Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

‘80% completed’

According to the authorities, the Bullet Train project overall has crossed the 80% completion mark in terms of land and major structural progress, with substantial completion in Gujarat.

Earlier this month, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said the 480 metre long and 36 metre tall bridge over the Sabarmati River has been completed for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

The bridge, whose height is equivalent to a 12-storey building at around 118 feet, is one of the major structures of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor, the NHSRCL said in a release.

“It is located adjacent to the Western Railway’s Ahmedabad-Delhi main line, which is approximately 14.8 metres above ground level The bridge is located between Sabarmati and Ahmedabad bullet train stations, approximately 1 km from Sabarmati station and 4 km from Ahmedabad station,” it added.

Last month, a 100-metre-long bridge, weighing 1,405 metric tonnes was installed in Maharashtra’s Thane district, making it the first steel bridge set up in Maharashtra as part of the project.

The 14-metre-high and as-wide structure was launched over National Highway-3 at Dive-Anjur village in the Bhiwandi area here on Monday, a release by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said.

With this installation, 16 out of the total 28 steel bridges planned along the entire bullet train corridor have now been completed.