With the state government dilly-dallying on the transfer of land for the bullet train project, Maharashtra may have lost the race to welcome the high-speed rake, with the Railway Board chairman hinting that their Plan B is to run the service on the 325-km stretch between Ahmedabad and Vapi in the first phase. Subsequently, authorities plan to take the project from Ahmedabad to Delhi via other corridors.

On December 24, the Shiv Sena-led Thane Municipal Corporation, for the third time, rejected a proposal to transfer sanctioned land to the National High Speed Rail Corporation, which is executing the project, at its general body meeting.