18 May,2026 07:00 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
A picture of India’s first proposed bullet train has been showcased at the Ministry of Railways. Pic/PTI
As work on India's first bullet train project gathers pace, a photo of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor has been installed near Gate No 4 of the Railway Ministry in New Delhi, news agency ANI reported.
The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project is being executed with technical and financial assistance from the Government of Japan.
The corridor will pass through Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. A total of 12 stations have been planned at Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.
The Railway Ministry has expressed confidence that the country's first bullet train service between Surat and Billimora will commence this year.
According to officials, foundation work has been completed at eight of the 12 stations, including Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Anand, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.
Seventeen river bridges have also been completed. Work on four major river bridges - Narmada, Mahi, Tapti, and Sabarmati - is at an advanced stage in Gujarat, while construction is underway on four river bridges in Maharashtra.
Construction work at depots in Thane, Surat, and Sabarmati is progressing at full pace.
Civil works at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) station in Mumbai are also progressing steadily. Excavation work has achieved around 91 per cent completion, while concreting work is underway at multiple stages.
The basement slab at Level-4 has been fully completed.
The under-sea tunnel project, spanning around 21 km, has also commenced. Of this, 4.8 km of tunnelling between Ghansoli and Shilphata in Maharashtra has already been completed.
The Railway Ministry said the expertise being developed through the MAHSR project in areas such as track construction, advanced signalling, rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance, and project management would help lay the foundation for future high-speed rail corridors in India.
Under the âMake in India' and âAatmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives, Indian Railways is also promoting indigenous manufacturing of high-speed rail systems and components to reduce import dependence.
Building on the success of the Vande Bharat Express, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), in collaboration with Bharat Earth Movers Limited, is designing and manufacturing high-speed train sets with a design speed of 280 kilometre per hour.
The Railway Ministry added that land acquisition for the project has been carried out in accordance with applicable laws, while compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement measures have been implemented in coordination with state governments.
The MAHSR corridor has been designed for high-frequency operations with substantial passenger-carrying capacity, officials said.
(With ANI inputs)
