Indian Railways bullet train from Ahmedabad to Mumbai gets this deadline; set to cost Rs 1.10 lakh cr

The Indian Railways bullet train that will run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is likely to be ready to roll by 2023. This was revealed by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani on Friday. But for some passengers, certain sections of this super-fast, 500-km route will become operational by 2022. Lohani said, "Bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will be made fully operational by 2023. We are moving ahead as per our plan on the project". Lohani was speaking to the media in Pune. Considering the massive speed involved, the Indian Railways has said it will be using the latest technology to get the project started off and thereafter to run it. Notably, the project was kicked off in September, 2017, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. This Indian Railways bullet train project entails a whopping cost of some Rs 1.10 lakh crore.

On the issue of funds involved in the project, it was revealed that the bullet train project will be provided for by Japan itself through a loan of Rs 88,000 crore. However, the interest burden is minimal at just 0.1 per cent. That the rate is quite favourable for India was highlighted by Lohani who said, "There will not be any financial burden on us as it is a very soft funding."

The Indian Railways bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will be India's first. It is expected to run at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour. The entire journey will be covered in under 3 hours. Currently, Railways trains take as long as 7 hours.

The Indian Railways bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will stop at just 12 stations. Of these 4 will be in Maharashtra, PTI reports.

Indicating the priority for the government is safety, Lohani said, "We have got the Japanese technology on which bullet train is being run since 1965 and no accidents have taken place since then".