Railway luminary Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a recent declaration, ascribed the deceleration of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train initiative to the previous Uddhav Thackeray administration. He asserted that if the requisite permissions had been granted in a timely manner during their tenure, the colossal venture would have advanced significantly swifter. Additionally, Vaishnaw disclosed that the initial segment of the 508-kilometer corridor connecting Surat to Bilimora is slated to commence operations in the period of July to August 2026.
“The erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray government refrained from providing the necessary authorizations. Only after the ascent of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis regime were permissions accorded expeditiously, within a mere 10 days. Had the antecedent administration granted permissions in a timely fashion, the progression of the project would have been considerably accelerated,” expressed Vaishnaw during a media briefing subsequent to his scrutiny of the ongoing project.
Vaishnaw oversaw the inaugural remotely controlled detonation to initiate tunnel excavation at the Vikhroli shaft. The activities are in progress at the entrance points to the subterranean passage, namely Vikhroli, Thane, and Sawli.
He explicated that the subaqueous section of the 21-kilometer, 40-foot wide tunnel spans 7 kilometers, presenting a formidable challenge. Within the tunnel, trains are anticipated to reach speeds of 320 kilometers per hour, marking a milestone as India’s inaugural high-speed corridor project.
The primary stretch of the corridor, linking Surat to Bilimora, is slated for inauguration in the time frame of July to August 2026, with subsequent sections becoming operational successively. However, the minister refrained from furnishing a definitive timeline for the comprehensive completion of the corridor.
The project is being executed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited, encompassing a total of 12 stations. The corridor will accommodate both express and all-stop services, with express trains traversing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route in a mere two hours, while the all-stop variants will extend the journey to 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Vaishnaw conveyed that remarkable progress has been achieved in Gujarat, where the viaduct for the bullet train corridor is completed, and similar momentum is being maintained in Maharashtra. The ministry envisions the operation of 35 trains daily in each direction, with a frequency of every 20 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during off-peak periods.