New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited Surat in Gujarat to inspect the ongoing works of the bullet train project.
“We are keeping the target of running the first bullet train between Surat and Bilimora in 2026,” Vaishnaw said.
“The progress is very good, and we are confident of running the train by that time,” he told reporters in Surat.
Bilimora is a town in the Navsari district of south Gujarat.
The Minister said pillar casting work is over 61 km length of the route, and works are underway in total 150 km length of the route.
Indian Railways has been completing projects at a fast pace to provide its passengers with all the comfort and convenience, officials say.
The foundation stone of the ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in September 2017.
According to the project implementing agency NHSRCL, over 90 per cent of the total land required for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project spread across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has been acquired.
At 954.28 hectares, Gujarat accounts for the majority of the land required for the project, covering eight districts of Ahmedabad, Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand and Kheda.
The NHSRCL said that 98.79 per cent of the land required for the project in Gujarat had been acquired, while in Maharashtra, the figure stands at 71.49 per cent.
Besides, all the land required for the stretch covering the Dadra and Nagar Haveli has also been acquired.
