India's First Bullet Train Section to Open in 2027, Construction Over 80% Complete

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India is set to get its first bullet train ride by 2027! Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced that the first operational section of the bullet train project will be ready in 2027, saying that construction on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor has crossed the 80% mark. Speaking on the sidelines of the Commencement of Commercial Production event at CG Semi's OSAT Facility in Sanand, Gujarat, he outlined the phased rollout plan for the country's first high-speed rail network, with each subsequent stretch opening after the initial section becomes operational. "The first section of the Bullet Train from Surat to Bilimora will be inaugurated in 2027. Thereafter, the Wapi-Surat section, followed by Wapi-Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad-Thane and finally Ahmedabad-Mumbai will be completed in phases. The work is progressing very fast," he said. Vaishnaw added that the work was advancing at a rapid pace and efforts were focused on completing the project within the planned timeline.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project: Key features

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor is India's first dedicated bullet train corridor and is being developed using Japanese Shinkansen technology and operational practices. The corridor, which is set to have 12 stations, stretches around 508 km and is designed to cut travel time between the two cities to about 1 hour and 58 minutes. The trains are designed to run at an operational speed of 320 kmph, with a design speed of 350 kmph. The project will introduce J-Slab ballastless track technology in India for the first time. The corridor will be supported by more than 20,000 overhead electrification masts using a 2×25 kV traction system. It will also have 12 traction substations, two depot traction substations and 16 distribution substations. Dedicated track construction bases are being set up to store rails, track slabs, machinery and equipment. Three rolling stock depots are also under construction at Sabarmati and Surat in Gujarat, and Thane in Maharashtra.

More corridors in lane

The government has identified seven additional high-speed rail corridors spanning nearly 4,000 km as part of its long-term expansion plans, with proposed investments of around Rs 16 lakh crore.The planned routes are:

Routes

Travel time

Delhi–Varanasi

3 hours 50 minutes

Varanasi–Patna–Siliguri

2 hours 55 minutes

Chennai–Bengaluru

1 hour 13 minutes

Bengaluru–Hyderabad

2 hours

Chennai–Hyderabad

2 hours 55 minutes

Mumbai–Pune

48 minutes

Pune–Hyderabad

1 hour 55 minutes

The government said the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project is expected to build the expertise and industrial ecosystem required for the future expansion of India's high-speed rail network.

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