Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project on Track with Land acquisition

The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) announced the successful completion of land acquisition for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in Gujarat. The corporation confirmed that the last piece of land required for the project was acquired in Kathore village, Surat district, in September. A total of 951.14 hectares of land across eight districts in Gujarat were needed for the project, and this goal has been achieved.

With this recent acquisition, 99.95% of the land necessary for the project in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu has been secured. In Maharashtra, 429.71 hectares were designated for the project, out of which 99.83% of the process has been completed. Additionally, 7.90 hectares were acquired in the Union Territory.

The land acquisition details for Gujarat are as follows: 133.29 hectares in Ahmedabad, 110.25 hectares in Kheda, 52.59 hectares in Anand, 142.30 hectares in Vadodara, 140.32 hectares in Bharuch, 160.52 hectares in Surat, and 88.93 hectares in Valsad.

The operational control centre for the bullet train will be situated in Sabarmati, Ahmedabad. There will be three depots, two in Gujarat (Surat and Sabarmati) and one in Maharashtra at Thane, according to the release.

The government's objective is to commence the first phase of the bullet train service between Surat and Bilimora in south Gujarat by 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched the project in Ahmedabad on September 14, 2017. The completed 508-km route is expected to be covered in 3-3.5 hours.

This high-speed rail line, utilising Japan's Shinkansen technology, aims to establish a high-frequency mass transportation system between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The project has been financially supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through a soft loan of Rs 880 billion from Japan. Originally slated for completion by 2022, the project faced delays due to challenges in land acquisition.