Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said India’s first bullet train service will begin soon, reducing the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to two hours and seven minutes.
He made the statement at Bhavnagar terminus, where he virtually flagged off the Ayodhya Express, Rewa-Pune Express, and Jabalpur-Raipur Express trains. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav and Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai also joined the event.
“The first bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will start very soon, and the work on the project is going on at a fast pace. When it starts running, the journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will take only two hours and seven minutes,” PTI news agency quoted Vaishnaw.
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The train will cover a distance of 508 km
The train will cover a distance of 508 km, starting from the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and connecting to Vapi, Surat, Anand, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. It will run at a top speed of 320 kmph.
Vaishnaw also outlined upcoming railway projects in Gujarat, including a new train service between Porbandar and Rajkot, a Rs135 crore coach maintenance facility at Ranavav station, a railway flyover in Porbandar city, two Gati Shakti cargo terminals, and a container terminal at a new port in Bhavnagar.
{{/usCountry}}Vaishnaw also outlined upcoming railway projects in Gujarat, including a new train service between Porbandar and Rajkot, a Rs135 crore coach maintenance facility at Ranavav station, a railway flyover in Porbandar city, two Gati Shakti cargo terminals, and a container terminal at a new port in Bhavnagar.
{{/usCountry}}He said several projects were also moving forward in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with the governments in both states helping fast-track the work.
Vaishnaw said that in the last 11 years of the Narendra Modi government, 34,000 km of new railway tracks had been added, with nearly 12 km being laid every day.
He added that 1,300 railway stations across the country are currently being redeveloped.
“No one has undertaken such a big work to date. When railway stations are renovated in developed countries, they are done systematically by closing down all stations and trains,” Vaishnaw said.
“There is a huge population here, and everyone’s expectation is that work should progress, trains should run, and the station should also be redeveloped. Taking all these challenges into account, Modiji has a big vision today regarding the renovation of these stations,” he added.
New trains launched during the Modi government
The minister also spoke about the new trains launched during the Modi government — Vande Bharat Express, Amrit Bharat Express, and Namo Bharat Express.
“Eight Amrit Bharat trains have been launched so far. They have features like Vande Bharat trains, but the fare is low. These trains have been constructed using new-age technology, and you will be surprised to hear the emotions expressed by passengers using these trains,” he said.
Union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Nimuben Bambhaniya were also present.