Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project: The Gujarat leg of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed rail corridor project may open first if the land could not be acquired in Maharashtra in the next three months, said the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on Thursday. NHSRCL MD Achal Khare was quoted in a news agency report saying that the 2023 deadline for completing the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project was not feasible, and civil works on the Gujarat side were expected to be completed by the year 2024. For the 352-km long stretch of the project, NHSRCL has acquired 95% of the land in Gujarat, but the corporation has only been able to acquire 23% of land for the 156-km long stretch in Maharashtra.
The remaining 5% land in Gujarat will be acquired by mid-June, Khare said. If NHSRCL is able to acquire about 70-80% land in the next three months, it can start the entire project together, he further said. According to the NHSRCL MD, in Maharashtra, there are many issues over land acquisition. The NHSRCL is in talks with its Japanese counterparts to open the project’s Gujarat phase first. The Maharashtra government had earlier said it will review the necessity of the project. Khare said for the Gujarat leg of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project, contracts worth Rs 32,500 crore have been awarded for the development of 325 km long stretch and five stations. The project includes eight stations in Gujarat and four stations in Maharashtra.
For stations in Sabarmati and Ahmedabad as well as 18 km long section in that city, tenders will be released on 25 March 2021, while tenders for Vadodara station and 7 km-8 km stretch in that city will be released in the month of June, he said. The original deadline of 2023 for the project completion is not feasible as a year was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of land acquisition issues in Maharashtra, the MD said.
The NHSRCL will require as many as 24 sets of rolling stock for high-speed trains, of which 18 sets will be imported from Japan, while six sets of rolling stock will be produced in the country under the `Make in India’ initiative. Japan has allowed the production of six sets of rolling stocks in India and the Japanese manufacturer will tie-up with an Indian firm and make them here, Khare said. Besides, he also informed that due to various constraints, alignment at Vadodara station has been changed. The new alignment at the station will save around Rs 2,000 crore, he added.
(With inputs from agencies)