India confident of running first bullet train by 2026, but only in Gujarat

The first phase of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, a 61-km stretch between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat, is likely to be operational only in 2026

India is confident of achieving the target of running the country's first bullet train by 2026, or at least do a trial run.

The deadline of the 508-km project was initially December 2023, but due to delay in land acquisition and onset of Covid-19 pandemic, the date for the project kept on extending. 

At the current rate, the first phase of the project, a 61-km stretch between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat is likely to be operational only in 2026 and the remaining part of the project in Gujarat is expected to be ready by 2028.

Inspecting the progress of the government's ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday reassured that there has been good progress and the work is being done at a high speed.

"We are keeping the target of running the first bullet train between Surat and Bilimora in 2026. The progress is very good, and we are confident of running the train by that time," he said.

With the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, there is pressure to speed up the project and take a section up for trial in the state, where the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has already acquired 99 per cent of the land required.

So far, the NHSRCL has managed to acquire 71 per cent of the total land requirement for the project. The agency has been unable to acquire land owned by the Maharashtra government or the forest department.

“The work in Maharashtra will start once the land is handed over to us, but more than that it’s the intent of the state government for the project,” said Vaishnaw.

While flagging-off a metro project in April, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray opposed the bullet train project saying the people of Maharashtra do not need it as the route is not useful for Maharashtra. Instead, he demanded a bullet service train between Mumbai and Nagpur stretch.

Earlier in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the effort now is to upgrade Mumbai's capacity for creating an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and hence, the focus is on creating infrastructure development of the 21st century in Mumbai.

In 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and Japan for feasibility study of high-speed railway system.

At an estimated cost of Rs 1.1 trillion, the Japan International Cooperation Agency is funding 81 per cent of project. The trains will run on special tracks called the "slab track system", popularly known as HSR technology for construction of tracks, patented by the Japanese.

The trials of the bullet train will be conducted at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour, comparable to speed at which airplanes take-off.