Surat will be the first station to be constructed between Mumbai- Ahmedabad route, set for the country’s first bullet train, informed an official privy to the developments on Wednesday.
“The work on the four stations (Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch) has expedited and they will be ready by December 2024. Of these four, Surat will be the first one to be ready,” said an official from National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd. (NHSRCL). The NHSRCL is the implementing agency for the project.
Apart from the four stations, a 237-kilometer viaduct will be built, according to a railway ministry official. A viaduct is a type of bridge that supports a long-elevated railway line or road with a series of arches, piers, or columns.
In December of last year, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India’s first bullet train would begin service in 2026 between Surat and Bilimora. The distance between Surat and Bilimora is 50 kilometres.
The project has been mired in land acquisition battles. However, the ministry said that it is working on the matter. While replying to members Dr Shrikant Eknath Shinde and Dr Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil in parliament, minister Vaishnaw on Wednesday informed: As on date, 98.62% has been acquired in Gujarat for the project. In Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory, complete acquisition (7.90 Ha) and in Maharashtra, 56.39% land (244.63 Ha out of 433.82 Ha) has been acquired. This includes 925 Ha of private land.
The bullet train corridor project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was inaugurated in 2017.Initially, the work on the project was aimed to be completed by 2023. Land acquisition issues and construction delays due to Covid affected the project progress. The 508-km long corridor will have stations at Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisor, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati
According to the information, pier construction in Valsad district and station work at Chainage 167 in Vapi is in progress. In district Navsari, pier construction work is in full swing at Chainage 238.
An NHSRCL official said, “For Surat station, the construction has started on Chainage 264. At the same time, construction work of pile, pile cap and pillar between Chainage 358 to 360 is in progress in Bharuch district.”
“In Vadodara district, construction work of pile, pile cap and pillar between Chainage 410 to 417 is also ongoing. The work on Sabarmati Terminal Hub building is also in progress in Ahmedabad district. This hub will benefit the commuters by providing the facility of connecting the high-speed rail station to the railway station, metro and bus station,” the officer added.