The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor extends to over 500 km (Representational).
The first bullet train section in India - a 50km stretch between Bilimora and Surat in Gujarat - will be completed in August 2026, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Wednesday, as he announced multiple plans to overhaul the country's rail network and services. Mr Vaishnaw also spoke about the Kavach system - an indigenously developed warning system to guard against on-track collisions that made headlines after a horrific accident in Odisha's Balasore in June killed nearly 300 people.
Mr Vaishnaw also provided updates on technology - the Gajraj system - to stop collisions between elephants and trains, and building more tracks to better connect different parts of the country.
The Railways Minister also said the number of new trains in India had increased from before the pandemic - from 1,768 mail/express services to 2,124 now, and from 5,626 suburban services to 5,774 now. Passenger trains, he said had increased from 2,792 to 2,856 in the same period.
Overall, the Railways served 640 crore passengers in 2022/23 and the target for 23/24 is 750 crore.
On the bullet train front, Mr Vaishnaw's statement follows from his update last week, in which he said a significant step - completion of 100 km of viaducts and 230 km of pier work - had been taken for the larger Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor, of which the Bilimora-Surat section is a part.
READ | Railway Minister Shares Major Update On Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train
Viaducts, or extended bridge-like structures supported by piers or towers, play a crucial role in carrying roads or railway tracks over valleys or gorges.
Mr Vaishnaw posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing completed viaducts across the Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Vadodara, and Anand districts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor has been making steady progress since work began in November 2021. The first kilometre of the viaduct was built in six months and the 50th by April this year.
READ | Trains To Zip Through Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Corridor At 350 Km Per Hour
In addition, bridges are being built over six rivers - the Par and Auranga in Valsad district, and the Purna, Mindhola, Ambika, and Venganiya in Navsari - as part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor.
The NHSRCL, or National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, shared drone videos of these bridges, some of which have already been built, with the caption "... bullet speed".
The projected cost is an estimated Rs 1.08 lakh crore, of which the centre is committed to providing Rs 10,000 crore, while Gujarat and Maharashtra will contribute Rs 5,000 crore each. The remaining funding will be secured through a loan from Japan - at a minimal 0.1 per cent interest rate.
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