Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train to start from Bandra-Kurla
11 Apr 2017
The project for a high-speed rail connection between Mumbai and Ahmedabad crossed a major hurdle with the Bandra-Kurla Complex being finalised as the starting point for the bullet train.
The bullet train will start from an underground station in Bandra-Kurla Complex and remain underground for most of the 21-km traveling through a tunnel in the sea before emerging over ground at Thane.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which owns the land for the proposed bullet train station wanted the land for an international financial services centre and objected to handing over the land for the bullet train project.
The railway ministry managed to solve the issue by offering to build the station underground and leave the land above for the financial service centre.
Officials said the Railways would get 10 acres of the total of 67 acres available at Bandra-Kurla.
Once completed, the high-speed corridor will enable trains to run at maximum speeds of 350 km per hour, reducing travel time for the 508-km journey between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to two hours from seven at present.
There will be 12 stations along the route – 4 in Maharashtra and 8 in Gujarat.
The bullet train project was originally estimated to cost about Rs97,636 crore, with 80 per cent of it coming as a loan from Japan. The cost of the project – scheduled for completion in 2024 – has climbed from the original Rs97,636 crore to Rs1,08, 000 crore with the authorities deciding to build the entire stretch as an elevated corridor.
Currently, a survey is being conducted to determine the exact location for the pillars for the super-fast train track.
''Consultants for carrying out these surveys will be appointed within the next few months'', senior ministry officials said.
Final location surveys have already been completed, while the National High Speed Rail Corporation can also expected to become functional this year, officials said.
Construction of the corridor is expected to start in 2018 and is estimated to be completed by 2023.