Bharat SainiLast Updated on September 30, 2017 by Bharat Saini
Bullet train would be launched in 2022, coinciding with 75 years of India’s independence; as per announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday September 14, 2017; while laying foundation stone along with the Japan Prime Minster Sinzo Abe; in Ahmedabad for the country’s first Rs. 110000 crore, 508 km high-speed rail project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. India has received a loan worth Rs 88,000 crore from Japan for the project with a cheaper rate of interest @0.1% and in future the trains will be manufactured in India through transfer of technology. According to Modi, humanity friendly and eco-friendly, bullet train project will take care of high speed, high growth and high-end technology and will usher in the next generation economic growth along the corridor between the two cities; and that New India has taken an important step towards fulfilling a big dream.
- To be built on elevated corridor with a seven-km undersea tunnel in Mumbai, the project will be based on the famed Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway system with a record of zero casualties in its 50 years of operation.
- Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Railway Project (MAHSR) project will be executed through a special purpose vehicle, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd.
- India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd will tie up for manufacturing the rolling stock for bullet train project.
- Training centre as part of the project is being set up in Vadodara to train over 4,000 employees who will be responsible for execution, operation and maintenance of the bullet train.
- Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati stations will be covered under this project and the train is expected to service 1.5 crore travelers, once it’s operational. The train will carry 750 passengers at one time and the service is expected to be used by 36000 commuters daily.
- Bullet train will also pass through the country’s longest tunnel at 21 kms, of which seven km will be under the sea near Thane in Maharashtra and of the 508-km route the train will cover, 92% of the stretch will be elevated, 6% through a tunnel and the rest on the ground.
- This train is expected to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad from the current seven hours to two hours, at an average speed of 250 km per hour, with a top speed of around 320 km per hour, the train will run at more than double the top speed of the fastest train in India. Faster travel will save fuel and reduce congestion on the road.
- MAHSR project will enable Indians learn the Japanese art of perfection in engineering and execution, and pick up innovative and sustainable practices through the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
- Bullet train project will generate employment and advance technological up-gradation in the country.
