Full steam ahead: India’s 1st bullet train zips towards 2029 finish line

Mumbai: India’s ambitious dream of zooming from Mumbai to Ahmedabad at lightning speed is racing ahead, as the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) pushes full throttle on the country’s first bullet train project.

The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor will pass through Maharashtra, Gujarat, and the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, boasting 12 ultra-modern stations – Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.

Backed by technical and financial assistance from Japan, this ₹1.08 lakh crore mega project is getting a major lift from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is footing 81% of the bill (₹88,000 crore). The remaining ₹20,000 crore is being split between the Indian Railways (50%) and the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat (25% each).

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, revealed that 24 out of 28 tender packages have already been awarded. Pier construction for 392 km is done, along with 329 km of girder casting and 308 km of girder launching. Oh, and did we mention? A 21-km undersea tunnel is already in progress – talk about diving into infrastructure!

The Gujarat stretch (Vapi to Sabarmati) is scheduled for a December 2027 wrap-up, with the entire corridor expected to be ready by December 2029. But the minister added a pinch of realism, calling it a “complex and technology-intensive project.”

India’s first bullet train is slowly but surely revving up to become reality – so buckle up, the future is on track!