9.12.10

Bullet train update

The dreams of Amdavadis to reach Mumbai in less than two hours have moved a step closer to realisation. The detailed project report for the bullet train between Ahmedabad-Pune has been finally submitted to the railway board. The report has pegged the cost of the project, which covers nearly 530 km between Ahmedabad-Pune, at around Rs 56,000 crore. Of this, around Rs 50,000 crore will be used for the construction of tracks and other infrastructure alone. Officials in the western division said that once the detailed project report gets a clearance, the fund sharing will also be decided between the Maharashtra and the Gujarat governments. The bullet train, which is capable of running at 350 km per hour speed, aims to reduce the travel time between Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune to less than three hours.
The current travel time for the 450 km distance between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is six hours and thirty minutes by the non stop Duronto train. The same for the 100 km Pune-Mumbai is three hours. The report has also suggested alignment, fare structure and volume of passengers in the proposed high-speed corridor, the first of its kind in the country. Officials said the pre-feasibility study by a French rail transport company reveals a travel time of 1 hour 52 minutes between Ahmedabad-Mumbai without any stops at a speed of about 350 km per hour. The same from Mumbai to Pune is estimated to be around 40 minutes. The study has also predicted that 26.6 million passengers would travel by the bullet train every year with 2021 as the horizon year.
Officials said that the major issue would be the fund sharing between Mumbai and Pune. Gujarat wanted the train to run only till Mumbai, but on the request of the Maharashtra government the project was extended till Pune. Officials said that the railways have already made it clear that the entire project would be on a public-private-partnership. Earlier this year, a French rail transport company was awarded the contract for conducting pre-feasibility study.

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