Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the entire Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is expected to be completed by December 2029, reported the PTI.
The segment between Vapi and Sabarmati in Gujarat is planned to be ready by December 2027, he said.
Sharing an update on India’s most ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor project, Vaishnaw stated that the 508-kilometre-long bullet train route is being developed with financial and technical assistance from Japan. The route spans across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, featuring 12 planned stations — including Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati, according to the PTI.
Highlighting the scale and complexity of the project, the minister clarified that a more precise timeline can only be determined once civil, track, signalling, electrical, and telecommunication works, as well as the supply of trainsets, are complete.
Vaishnaw said that the total estimated cost of the MAHSR project is approximately Rs 1,08,000 crore. Of this, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding 81 per cent (Rs 88,000 crore), while the remaining 19 per cent (Rs 20,000 crore) is shared equally by the Ministry of Railways (50 per cent) and the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat (25 per cent each), as per the PTI.
As of June 30, a cumulative Rs 78,839 crore has been spent on the project.
The minister acknowledged that delays in land acquisition in Maharashtra had slowed progress until 2021. However, he confirmed that 100 per cent of the required land (1,389.5 hectares) has now been acquired. All civil contracts have been awarded and environmental clearances — including wildlife, forest, and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) permissions — have been secured.
Providing a construction update, Vaishnaw said that out of 28 tender packages, 24 have been finalised. So far, 392 km of pier construction, 329 km of girder casting, and 308 km of girder launching have been completed. Work on the under-sea tunnel — approximately 21 km in length — has also commenced.
He further mentioned that detailed project reports (DPRs) are currently being prepared for expanding high-speed rail (HSR) corridors to other parts of the country.
Vaishnaw added that future HSR projects will be assessed based on technical feasibility, economic viability, passenger demand, and funding availability, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)