27.1.14

High Speed Rail : Mumbai-Ahmedabad update

In a few years, high-speed bullet trains may be able to take commuters from Mumbai to Ahmedabad in two hours flat. A proposal is under consideration to link the corridor via Thane and Virar. The feasibility study for the high-speed train that will traverse 534 km—to be done by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)—is expected to be complete by May 2015.
The JICA team was in Mumbai to meet officials of the state government and railways to discuss the project, which is estimated to cost Rs.63,000 crore.
 Western Railway’s divisional railway manager Shailendra Kumar said, “The train is likely to originate from Bandra-Kurla Complex.” Besides, the team has chosen Bandra Terminus and LTT as alternatives for the originating station here.
The high-speed train will run at a maximum speed of 320 kmph.
As of now, the fastest train to run on this sector is Duranto and it takes close to seven hours to reach Ahmedabad from Mumbai Central. Duronto runs nonstop between these two cities at a maximum speed of 120 kmph.
According to the tentative alignment finalized, the train will originate via BKC or Bandra Terminus and will have halts at Thane and Virar, from where it will run parallel to existing WR alignment up to Ahmedabad.”
The official said, “The idea behind linking the route via Thane is to keep the option open to link this high-speed train to Pune. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad route will primarily benefit Gujarat more as three of its premier cities, including Vapi, Surat and Vadodara, get connected, while none of Maharashtra’s major cities, except Mumbai, gets the benefit.”
A pre-feasibility study for the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route was conducted by French consultancy firm Systra. Indian Railways has, however, decided to abandon the Pune-Mumbai leg of this stretch as it could turn to be loss-making proposition due to poor patronage.
An official said, “The project is likely to be implemented on PPP model with Maharashtra and Gujarat as stakeholders. Maharashtra would definitely look at the cost-benefit ratio before committing to the project.”
Former Railway Board member VN Mathur, who has been roped in as advisor by JICA for the project, said, “The details of feasibility study are being worked out.”
The cost of the study, for which an agreement was signed in October 2013, will be shared 50:50 between India and Japan.

HIGH-SPEED CORRIDOR
Length : 534 km
Estimated cost : 63,000 cr
Estimated travel time : 2 hours
Maximum Speed : 320 kmph
Stations : 11
Status : Feasibility study to complete by May 2015
Tentative routes (stations)
Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Dahanu, Vapi, Valsad Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad

No comments: