Infrastructure
Bullet Train: Surat To Billimora Link Set For August 2026 Completion, Says Ashwini Vaishnaw
High-speed trains parked at a depot.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the first stretch of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, linking Surat to Bilimora, is slated to become operational by August 2026.
Vaishnaw made this announcement while addressing reporters after inspecting the progress of the Bullet Train project in Mumbai on Friday (23 February). Upon completion, trials for the Bilimora-Surat route will be conducted using the E5 series of Shinkansen trains, added the minister.
It is to be noted that in June 2023, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), responsible for executing the MAHSR project, had issued bids for the procurement of 24 E5 Series Shinkansen trainsets, totaling approximately Rs 11,000 crore.
However, Vaishnaw did not provide a precise timeline for the completion of the entire 508-km route.
The minister attributed delays in India's first bullet train project to the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government, led by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. He commended the current Shinde-Fadnavis government for expediting the project by resolving land acquisition challenges.
“If the Uddhav Thackeray government hadn’t stalled this project, then a lot of work would have been completed in Maharashtra by now,” Vaishnaw said.
The country’s first ‘bullet’ train, nicknamed for its bullet-like shape and speed, with 12 stations en route, is currently under construction.
Operating at 320 km h, the high-speed rail will traverse west India’s landscape, covering the 508.17 km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just one hour and 58 minutes with limited stops (in Surat and Vadodara), or two hours and 57 minutes with all stops.
This represents a considerable time saving compared to current travel options, reducing travel time by approximately nine hours (by bus) or six hours (by conventional railways) between the two terminal stations.
The foundation stone for the MAHSR project was laid in September 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe.
The project is being executed by the NHSRCL, a special-purpose vehicle created for the project by the Railway Ministry, which holds 50 per cent equity, and the state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra, each holding 25 per cent equity.
The ministry envisages 35 trains operating daily in each direction, with frequencies of every 20 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during off-peak hours.
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