In a significant milestone, on Wednesday (10 February), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has started the construction work to build the Mumbai - Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Line popular as the bullet train project which passes through the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, reports The Metro Rail Guy.

In an event attended by the top officials of L&T and National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), workers have started pouring concrete for the first pier’s open foundation (pile cap) and started the test piling work on the Package C4 of the project that extends up to 237.1 km.

Package C4 of the project runs elevated from Zaroli Village on the Maharashtra - Gujarat border to Vadodara Station through stations at Vapi, Bilimora, Surat and Bharuch in Gujarat.

It also includes construction of the Surat Depot, 14 river crossings, 42 road crossings, 6 railway crossings and one 350 meter tunnel through a hill.

The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) is implementing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project based on Japan’s E5 Shinkansen technology.

The 508-km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is one of the leading infrastructure projects envisioned by the Narendra Modi-led Central government.

The high speed rail corridor is slated to be completed by around 2024.

Of the 508.17 km-long bullet train corridor, 155.76 km will be in Maharashtra, 348.04 km in Gujarat and 4.3 km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The project is estimated to cost around Rs 1.1 lakh crore, with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency financing 81 per cent of the project cost.

The bullet train project, a first in the country, is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities and stimulate the economy.