As state delays transfer of land, Railway Board chairman hints at running the high-speed service between Ahmedabad and Vapi in the first phase
Once operational, the bullet train will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to 2 hours 57 minutes
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.
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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.
V K Yadav, chairman of Railway Board, told the media that more than 80 per cent of the land acquisition had been done in Gujarat and talks are going on with the Maharashtra government with hopes of acquiring 80 per cent of land in the state in the next few months. However, if there is no development, the bullet train may be run in a phased manner, said the board official.
The foundation stone of the project running between Ahmedabad-Mumbai was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on September 14, 2017, in Ahmedabad.
Civil contracts worth Rs 32,000 crore for 325 km of the total 508 km have already been awarded. The project is expected to get completed by 2024. Trials of the first bullet train were initially expected to coincide with the 75 years of Independence, but it may now be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
India's first bullet train, being built with the partnership of India and Japan, will traverse the distance between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in 2 hours and 57 minutes covering 12 stations, including the originating and final station. It is slated to start from BKC with an underground station, has an undersea tunnel till Thane and then goes elevated. The frequency of the service at peak hours will be 20 minutes.
2024
Year when the project was initially expected to get over
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