New Delhi, November 18: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Tuesday that the inauguration of India's first bullet train will take place in August 2027, with the service initially operating on a 100-kilometer stretch between Surat and Vapi in Gujarat. This marks a revision from the earlier plan, where the initial phase was scheduled to cover a 50-kilometer distance between Surat and Bilimora within the same timeline.
The country's first 508-kilometer high-speed rail corridor is being constructed between Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, designed to accommodate bullet trains running at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour. The minister detailed the travel efficiency of the new system, stating that the train will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in one hour and 58 minutes if it stops at four stations. However, if the service halts at all 12 stations, the complete journey will take two hours and 17 minutes.
Regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the Surat station, Vaishnaw noted that the Prime Minister was satisfied with the speed of construction. As per agency report, the Prime Minister remarked that the learnings derived from this project should be utilized not only in railways and other high-speed projects but also in various other sectors, highlighting that the initiative has seen consecutive innovations.
Describing the initiative as a complex project where the design remains the biggest challenge, the minister emphasized that the entire project is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2029. While the Railway Ministry has awarded a contract to a joint venture led by Siemens to install the signaling system on the corridor, industry experts have indicated that this system might not be suitable for the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train. Furthermore, the ministry has asked Bharat Earth Movers Limited to indigenously develop a high-speed train capable of running at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour.
