Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project Progress Satisfactory: Minister

Ahmedabad, Jan 11 (PTI) The progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is quite satisfactory, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after reviewing the work here on Thursday.

The minister, however, refused to give a deadline for the project's completion when asked by reporters.

"We proceed section by section in a linear project. It is a complex project and the work is going on at a very good speed," he said.

"After reviewing the project, I am quite satisfied and impressed with its progress," the minister said.

Out of the total 508-km-long project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, viaduct has been raised on a length of 272 km. There are eight rivers on the route and bridges have been built over five of them, Vaishnaw said.

The minister reiterated that the deadline to complete the 50-km-long section between Surat and Billimora is 2026 and the work is progressing according to the schedule.

Vaishnaw said the bullet train corridor will integrate big economic centres such as Mumbai, Thane, Vapi, Surat, Baroda, Anand and Ahmedabad and is good for the country's economic growth.

"At many stations significant progress has been made," he said.

"As per the proposal, the bullet train will pass through a sea tunnel to reach Mumbai from Thane. The work on the sea tunnel has begun," he added.

Announced in 2017, the country's first high-speed train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will see bullet trains running at a speed of 320 kmph.

In 2017, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, which is executing the project, had given a deadline of 2022 for completing the whole project. The project deadline was subsequently extended.