Work on India's first bullet train underway in full swing
The work on the country's first high-speed bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is on in full swing with the designing of bridges and tunnels progressing well, a senior official has said. A process has also been initiated to acquire land for the project, he said. PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had last year launched the ambitious project. Here's more.
Japan has extended a soft loan for the project
The high-speed train would cover the distance of over 500 km between the two cities in less than three hours, from the present seven hours. The train will halt at 12 stations, out of which four are in Maharashtra. Japan has extended a soft loan for the project, which is a joint venture between Indian Railways and Japan's Shinkansen Technology.
Major portion of designing works has been completed by engineers
Almost 80% work of designing of the bridges, viaducts, and tunnels has been completed by engineers based in Delhi, Mumbai, and Japan said Achal Khare, Managing Director of the National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC), which is implementing the project. The proposed corridor will start from the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai and end near the Sabarmati Railway Station in Ahmedabad.
The train route will pass through 108 villages of Maharashtra
Khare said, "The works of surveying the route and soil testing are underway." The preliminary work of acquiring land in both the states has also begun, he said. "Our route passes through 108 villages of Maharashtra. A majority of these villages fall in Palghar district. We have issued a notice to acquire land in 17 villages and informed the landowners about it," Khare said.
The entire project will be fire and earthquake resistant
Those who give their land will be compensated above the current prevailing market rates. Those who do not turn up, their lands will be acquired under Section 19 of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act 2013, he said. NHSRC has earmarked Rs. 10,000 crore for the purpose. The project is expected to be completed by 2022 will entirely be fire and earthquake resistant.
Before launch, empty trains will have extensive trial runs
"There will total 70 trips each day between the two stations, and according to our estimates, our ridership will be 40,000 passengers per day," Khare said. The trains will stop at BKC, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati stations. Before the launch, the empty trains will have extensive trial runs of about 10,000 km. The 10-car train will have a business class and standard class.
