Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is on a visit to Gujarat today, inspected the Ahmedabad Railway Station Redevelopment Project and the Bullet Train (National High-Speed Rail Project) in the city. He announced that 360 km of the Bullet Train project has been completed, with significant advancements in the Maharashtra section.
Vaishnaw noted that delays caused by permission issues during former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure are now being addressed. He stated, “Work on almost 360 km of the Bullet Train has been completed, and we are working to compensate for the two-and-a-half-year delay caused by the permission denial from (Uddhav) Thackeray. The Maharashtra section of the Bullet Train project is also progressing well, with almost 2 km of the undersea tunnel completed.”
During the press conference, Vaishnaw also stated, “A record allocation has been made for railway projects in Gujarat in this year’s budget. An allocation of around ₹17,155 crore has been made, compared to ₹590-600 crore during the UPA government. This is over 29 times more funding. The electrification work in Gujarat is also 97% complete and will reach 100% by March this year.”
As part of his inspection of the National High-Speed Rail Project in Ahmedabad, the Railway Minister visited the steel bridge installation site at NH 48 and also inspected the Anand Bullet Train Station.
At the steel bridge installation site, Vaishnaw remarked, “The Bullet Train project features unique construction in many places. This bridge weighs over 1,100 tons. Many of its specialized components are Made in India, and several have been designed in India. The team working here consists of bridge-building experts—the same team that worked on the Anji and Chenab bridges.”