India's first bullet train may miss its deadline due to land issues

 

Image Source: Internet

Mumbai, India (Metro Rail Today): The Mumbai- Ahmedabad Bullet Train is likely to miss its deadline due to land issues.The Railway ministry is now planning to open the first phase of the project on the Surat-Bilimora route in 2026. Ashwini Vaishnaw (Union railway minister) in an online interaction with media persons said that the work on the bullet train corridor project is going on. The bullet train between Surat and Bilimora will be operated in 2026. Vaishnaw added that it is a detailed project and refused to speak further. 

The 508.17km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project is stuck due to land acquisition issues. The land acquisition issues are mostly in Maharashtra. While the authorities have acquired most of the land required in Gujarat, the farmers in Thane and Palghar are against giving their land for the project. The Railways, through its subsidiary, National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), has started construction where it has already got possession of the land. The distance between the Surat-Bilimora route is 50km.

The corridor will have stations at Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisor, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.Out of the total of 508.17km of the project, 155.76km is in Maharashtra, 384.04km in Gujarat and 4.3km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The estimated cost of the project is ₹110,000 crore, of which ₹88,000 crore will be funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).The bullet train corridor project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was inaugurated in 2017. The work on the project was initially aimed to be completed by 2023.