NEW DELHI: If there’s one central ministry which could be explicitly happy about the change of government in Maharashtra, it is the Railways. Ministry officials now see a ray of hope for the completion of PM Narendra Modi’s ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed bullet train project.
The land acquisition process for the 155-km rail route falling within Maharashtra is likely to get a boost following a positive statement by the new CM Eknath Shinde.
The work on the project remained stalled mainly due to the delay in land acquisition because of the “lackadaisical stand” of the previous Udhav Thackeray-led MVA government.
At a recent event in Ahmedabad, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav appeared hopeful about the PM’s dream project.
He told the media that with the change of government in Maharashtra, the Railways “has turned more active” in pursuing the bullet train project.
Senior railway officials say more than 98.95% work on the land acquisition front in the BJP-ruled Gujarat is over for the 384-km project.
“In Gujarat, 100% tenders for both civil and mechanical works for the bullet train project are out. The work has progressed to some noticeable extent on Gujarat side,” said a senior railway official.
Quoting details of progress made on the Gujarat side, the official said of the total 352 km stretch in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, the Railways has started civil works from December 2020.
“The railways is working day and night to conduct the first trial run of the bullet train in Gujarat by 2026 between Surat and Bilimora at an operational speed of 320 kmph at which a plan takes off generally,” said an official. The cost of the entire project is over Rs 1 lakh crore. The Railways is also working to construct bridges on the route across eight rivers.
Special slab track system along the entire route
To run the bullet train at 320 kmph, a special slab track system will have to be put in place throughout the route.
The track will pass via Mumbai, Thane and Palghar in Maharashtra, and Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.