New Delhi, April 23
Significant progress has been made in the construction of various stations for India's first bullet train and we are geared up to run the first train in one section in 2026, Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.
In an interview with IANS, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reported that the bullet train project on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route is advancing smoothly. "More than 290 kms of work has already been done. Bridges have been built over eight rivers. Work is going on at 12 stations. The stations have also come at the same level so that the work is nearing completion," he informed. "The work is going on at two depots. The work is going on at a very fast pace with the complete target of opening its first section in 2026," he added. The Bullet Train project, which began in 2017, is notably complex, taking almost two-and-a-half years just to complete the design. "Its design is very complex because the vibrations are very strong at the speed at which the train has to run," Vaishnaw explained. He also detailed the technical challenges, such as managing vibrations and configuring the train to draw electricity overhead, plus considerations of speed and aerodynamics. The project faced setbacks, including delays during the Covid pandemic. "In Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray's government had refused to give permission which delayed the project. But the work is progressing very well now," the Union Minister noted. The bullet train corridor includes a significant engineering feat: a 21-km-long tunnel, which features a 7-km undersea stretch, with the deepest point of the tunnel reaching 56 metres. Inside this tunnel, bullet trains will operate at speeds of 300-320 kmph. The overall goal of this high-speed rail project is to develop a high-frequency mass transportation system between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, utilizing Japan's Shinkansen technology.