A significant progress has been made in the construction of the Ahmedabad section of the bullet train with the target of opening its first in 2026.
In an interview with the news agency, the union minister and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the work on bullet trains is progressing very well on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route.
“More than 290 kms of work has already been done. Bridges have been built over eight rivers. Work is going on at 12 stations. The stations have also come at the same level so that the work is nearing completion,” Ashwini Vaishnaw informed.
“The work is going on at two depots. The work is going on at a very fast pace with the complete target of opening its first section in 2026,” he said.
The Bullet Train is a very complex project. The work on it started in 2017 and it took almost two-and-a-half years to complete the design.
Ahmedabad high-speed railway station
Ahmedabad bullet train station is inspired by the historical ethos of the city. The roof depicts a canvas for hundreds of kites whereas the façade is inspired by Siddique Syed’s jaali.
The station is being planned to be built in an area of approx 38,000 sq mtrs over the existing western railway station above platform no 10, 11 and 12.
• No of platform: 2
• Height of the station: 33.7 metres from ground level
• Concourse slab of 435 m and platform level slab of 150 m is completed
Sabarmati bullet train station
Sabarmati being the terminal station of MAHSR Corridor is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s charkha of Sabarmati Ashram. The station is being planned to be built in an area of approx 45,094 sqm.
• No of Platform: 4
• Height of the station: 44 metres from ground level
• Foundation work is completed. First floor slab casting work is in progress
Bridge on Sabarmati River
The bullet train alignment will pass through Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad.
Salient features of the bridge are as follows:
• Length of the bridge: 480 metres
• Width of the river: 350 metres
• Consists of spans of 76 m x 5 nos and 50 m x 2 nos
• Height of piers: 31 to 33.5 metres
• Circular Piers of 6 metres and 6.5 metres diameter
• The bridge is in between Sabarmati and Ahmedabad bullet train stations
• The foundation works are in progress
Sabarmati rolling stock depot
The depot is being designed based on the experience of Shinkansen depots in Japan. The Sabarmati Rolling Stock depot is the largest of the three depots with an area of about 83 hectares.
It will have state-of-the-art equipment for both light and heavy maintenance of train sets with inspection bays, washing plant, workshop, sheds, stabling lines, etc.
The workshops at Sabarmati depot shall feature some of the largest industrial sheds. The OHE (overhead equipment) foundation work and RCC (reinforced cement concrete) works for the administrative building is in progress.