Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project: The Gujarat leg of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai higher speed rail corridor project may perhaps open initially if the land could not be acquired in Maharashtra in the next 3 months, mentioned the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on Thursday. NHSRCL MD Achal Khare was quoted in a PTI report saying that the 2023 deadline for finishing the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project was not feasible, and civil performs on the Gujarat side have been anticipated to be completed by the year 2024. For the 352-km lengthy stretch of the project, NHSRCL has acquired 95% of the land in Gujarat, but the corporation has only been capable to obtain 23% of land for the 156-km lengthy stretch in Maharashtra.
The remaining 5% land in Gujarat will be acquired by mid-June, Khare mentioned. If NHSRCL is capable to obtain about 70-80% land in the next 3 months, it can begin the whole project with each other, he additional mentioned. According to the NHSRCL MD, in Maharashtra, there are quite a few troubles more than land acquisition. The NHSRCL is in talks with its Japanese counterparts to open the project’s Gujarat phase initially. The Maharashtra government had earlier mentioned it will critique the necessity of the project. Khare mentioned for the Gujarat leg of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project, contracts worth Rs 32,500 crore have been awarded for the improvement of 325 km lengthy stretch and 5 stations. The project incorporates eight stations in Gujarat and 4 stations in Maharashtra.
For stations in Sabarmati and Ahmedabad as effectively as 18 km lengthy section in that city, tenders will be released on 25 March 2021, whilst tenders for Vadodara station and 7 km-8 km stretch in that city will be released in the month of June, he mentioned. The original deadline of 2023 for the project completion is not feasible as a year was lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the fact of land acquisition troubles in Maharashtra, the MD mentioned.
The NHSRCL will demand as quite a few as 24 sets of rolling stock for higher-speed trains, of which 18 sets will be imported from Japan, whilst six sets of rolling stock will be produced in the nation beneath the `Make in India’ initiative. Japan has permitted the production of six sets of rolling stocks in India and the Japanese manufacturer will tie-up with an Indian firm and make them right here, Khare mentioned. Besides, he also informed that due to several constraints, alignment at Vadodara station has been changed. The new alignment at the station will save about Rs 2,000 crore, he added.