Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Sunday that India’s first bullet train service, connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad, will commence operations “very soon,” reducing the 508-km journey to just two hours and seven minutes. Speaking at Bhavnagar terminus, where he virtually flagged off the Ayodhya Express, Rewa-Pune Express, and Jabalpur-Raipur Express alongside Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Vaishnaw highlighted the rapid progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project.
The 508-km corridor, executed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) with Japanese Shinkansen technology, will operate at speeds up to 320 km/h. Starting from Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), the bullet train will stop at Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.
The “Rapid Train” service, halting only at Surat and Vadodara, will complete the journey in 2 hours and 7 minutes, while the all-stop service will take 2 hours and 58 minutes. The project, costing Rs 1.08 lakh crore, is funded by a Rs 88,087 crore low-interest loan from Japan’s JICA, with the remainder from the Indian government and the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Vaishnaw noted significant milestones, including the completion of 300 km of viaducts and 392 km of pier construction as of June 2025, with a 21-km undersea tunnel at Thane Creek underway. The Surat-Bilimora section is slated for trial runs by July-August 2026, with full operations expected by 2028 in Gujarat and 2029 for the entire corridor.
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The minister also outlined other railway developments in Gujarat, including a new Porbandar-Rajkot train, a Rs 135-crore coach maintenance facility at Ranavav, a railway flyover in Porbandar, and cargo terminals. He credited the Modi government’s “double-engine” approach for accelerating projects, noting that 34,000 km of new tracks have been laid in 11 years, averaging 12 km daily. Additionally, 1,300 railway stations are being redeveloped, a scale Vaishnaw described as unprecedented globally, achieved without halting train operations.
Vaishnaw also praised new train services like Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat, and Namo Bharat Express, highlighting the affordability and advanced technology of Amrit Bharat trains. Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Nimuben Bambhaniya attended the event, underscoring the government’s commitment to transforming India’s rail infrastructure.
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