Biting the bullet

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project which had been moving at the pace of a passenger train in Maharashtra over the two years has picked up speed with the change of regime in the state.

Now, with Maharashtra proactive on the project now, the Union Environment ministry last week okayed 237 acres of forest land in the state for the project. With this approval, actual land acquisition for the project in Maharashtra reached 64%.

On Monday, August 29, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held his first war-room meeting for the Rs 1.08 lakh crore project and directed all departments to work on a war footing to obtain pending clearances by September 30. The state still has to acquire 159 hectares of land in Palghar.

The project is spread over a 508-km-long stretch, of which 348 km lies in Gujarat, 4 km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the remaining, 156 km, in Maharashtra. The train with a top speed of 320 kmph will cover the 508 km in three hours. There are 12 stations including BKC, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vadodara and Ahmedabad.

 In July, the Shinde-Fadnavis government released land for the Bullet train terminus at BKC and also issued a government resolution to release Rs 6 cr to buy equity in the project. Of the total share capital of Rs 20,000 cr in the National High Speed Railway Corp Ltd (NHRCL), Maharashtra and Gujarat will contribute Rs 5,000 cr each while the Centre’s share is Rs 10,000 cr.

The NHSRCL has already invited tenders for design and construction of civil and building works, including testing and commissioning on design-build lump sum price basis for the project, including the underground station and a cut and cover tunnel at Bandra-Kurla Complex.

 The country’s first bullet train will run between the stretch from Surat to Billimoria in 2026. Surat will be the first bullet train station to be ready by 2024. Every month around 300 pillars are being erected for the elevated tracks, covering a distance of around 12 km.

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