Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has stated that the country’s first bullet train is planned to make its debut run in August 2027 as part of the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor (MAHSR).
The initial journey will run between Surat and Vapi in Gujarat, covering 100km, as reported by news agency Press Trust of India.
This update changes the earlier plan to begin operations on a 50km section between Surat and Billimore, which is in an advanced stage of completion.
The new trains are designed to travel at a speed of up to 320km per hour.
According to Vaishnaw, travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be one hour 58 minutes with stops at four stations. If the train makes stops at all 12 stations along the route, the journey will take two hours 17 minutes.
Construction on the MAHSR project began after its launch in 2017. The original target for completion was December 2023.
Delays have occurred due to challenges with acquiring land and other project-related obstacles, reported The Economic Times.
The MAHSR corridor extends for about 508km. Of this, 352km are in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, while 156km are in Maharashtra state, India.
Out of the total route, 465km, or roughly 85%, are constructed on viaducts to reduce land impact and increase safety.
Construction has finished on 326km of these viaducts to date. In addition, 17 out of 25 river bridges along the corridor have been completed.
The project also includes the use of a single tunnel designed to allow two high-speed trains to operate at the same time.
The construction also makes use of 40m girders for building viaducts. These elements represent technical milestones for the project, noted the Ministry of Railways.
Furthermore, the construction uses the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) for tunnel work. Safety is addressed by installing ground settlement markers, inclinometers, piezometers, and strain gauges to monitor and support safe construction activity.
The ministry also said that a training programme, which includes sessions on simulators, for operational staff has started as part of the project.
In September this year, the ministry said “discussions were also held on introducing the latest E10 Shinkansen (Japan's next-generation bullet train) in India. Japan has agreed to provide India with this advanced train system”.
