Top government officials said India is going in for major domestic manufacturing of bullet trains, advanced signaling, and paving the way for future high-speed rail corridors.
The indigenous high-speed trains in the pipeline will be fitted with state-of-the-art technology, including Kavach 5.0, the most advanced automatic train protection system in the country.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project has achieved significant milestones, with land acquisition fully complete and over 320 kilometers of physical infrastructure ready.
With the election victory of the NDA government in Maharashtra, the project has gained momentum, officials said.
Insight gained from the MAHSR project will be invaluable, as India expands its HSR network. The country can thus turn independent to take up on its own more bullet train corridors, said an official.
It prepares to manufacture bullet trains, which can run at speeds of 280 kmph though the operational average will be 250 kmph. In that, the suspension system – the bogies – has to be upgraded, and there needs heavy development of the power train and the body of the train. This will take three years.
Despite the thrust for indigenous manufacturing, India is standing by its commitment to engagement with Japanese suppliers. Discussions continue for an agreement on a supply contract for MAHSR corridor trains. The officials also have made it clear that the partnership with Japan’s Shinkansen system remains a part of its high-speed rail strategy.
The BJP has promised to undertake feasibility studies for new bullet train corridors across North, South, and East India in its manifesto.
According to a report by Times Of India, the civil works for the MAHSR corridor are already 50 percent complete, indicating very strong progress.
The high-speed rail running at 320 kmph will cover the 508.17 km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in about two hours. This will save time as compared to the existing travel time between the two terminal stations by about nine hours by bus or six hours by conventional railways. It will cover 155.76 km in Maharashtra, 4.3 km in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 348.04 km in Gujarat, with 12 stations en route. Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train to be launched in 2026.
