After Bullet train hit by problems, PM Modi orders officials to meet deadline

Under the project, there would be 12 stations between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. These are: Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. The train speed is likely to be around 320 km per hour.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed the officials and the Railway ministry to meet the stiff deadlines of India's first bullet train project. Representative Image, source: Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed the officials and the Railway ministry to meet the stiff deadlines of India's first bullet train project. PMO at the PRAGATI session instructed all officials to monitor its progress very closely and report each and every development to it.

The 508-kilometer long Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project will connect Mumbai-Ahmedabad after crossing about 300 villages in the two states. The Indian Railways project would be built on standard gauge at an investment of around Rs 1.1 trillion, out of which Japan is giving a soft loan of around Rs 88,000 crore at an interest rate of 0.1%, to be repaid in 50 years with a 15-year grace period.

Under the project, there would be 12 stations between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. These are: Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. The train speed is likely to be around 320 km per hour.

What is the deadline of the project?

The land acquisition deadline for the Japan-backed $17 billion bullet train project is December 2018. The construction work on the same will be started from January 2019 and the bullet train will run on track from 2022.

Challenges in Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project

The project seeks to acquire 1400 hectares of land and so far only 0.9 hectares of land has been acquired.
Land acquisition plan is being opposed by the farmers of Gujarat and Maharashtra

A group of farmers in Palghar and Dhanu districts of Maharashtra are protesting agaisnt the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, expressing apprehension that they would lose their land on account of it.
There are 73 villages in Palghar alone and 16 villages in Dhanu.

Sources suggest that the workers of other political parties are provoking the villagers to stand against the project.

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The government wants to start the ground-breaking construction work of the first bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai before the general elections that is scheduled to happen in 2019. And that is a reason that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has instructed the bullet train officials that they must should meet all deadlines of the project. Ironically, the land acquisition work for the project should be completed by December 2018. But villagers are protesting agains the plan.

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