Mumbai-Ahmedabad in 2 hours! India's first bullet train service to commence soon, says rail minister Ashwini Vaisnaw
Speaking after he virtually flagged off the Ayodhya Express, Rewa-Pune Express, and Jabalpur-Raipur Express from Bhavnagar, he stated that the Mumbai-Ahemedabad bullet train, which will cut the journey between the two cities to two hours and seven minutes, will 'commence very soon'. India's first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will span 508 kilometres.
It will start from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area in Mumbai, and connect to Gujarat's Vapi, Surat, Anand, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, running at a high speed of 320 km per hour.
'The first bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will start very soon, and the work on the project is going on at a fast pace. When it starts running, the journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will take only two hours and seven minutes,' Vaishnaw said.
The minister also sahred details of the upcoming railway projects in Gujarat, including a new train between Porbandar and Rajkot, a ₹ 135-crore coach maintenance facility at Ranavav station, a railway flyover in Porbandar city, two Gati Shakti cargo terminals, and a container terminal at an upcoming port in Bhavnagar.
Besides these, he added that there are several new projects in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and praised the 'double-engine government' in these states making projects progress rapidly.
'In 11 years of the Narendra Modi government, 34,000 km of new railway tracks have been laid, with almost 12 km of new tracks built in the country daily. Around 1,300 railway stations are being redeveloped in the country, which is something that has never been done before. No one has undertaken such a big work to date. When railway stations are renovated in developed countries, they are done systematically by closing down all stations and trains,' Vaishnaw added.
He also gave an update on the trains introduced by the Modi government — Vande Bharat Express, Amrit Bharat Express, and Namo Bharat Express.
'Eight Amrit Bharat trains have been launched so far. They have features like Vande Bharat trains, but the fare is low. These trains have been constructed using new-age technology, and you will be surprised to hear the emotions expressed by passengers using these trains,' he said.
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