Recently, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited the under-construction Bullet Train Station at Surat, Gujarat, to review the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, MAHSR. The ambitious project, India’s first bullet train, is a quantum leap into high-speed connectivity. The PM interacted with the project team and ensured that targets were maintained as far as both speed and timetable are concerned and was assured that the project is progressing smoothly. Union Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw was also present there.
MAHSR is about 508 kilometres long, with 352 km falling in Gujarat/Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 156 km in Maharashtra, and it will connect cities such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Mumbai. Advanced engineering techniques have been incorporated in the design, with around 85% of the route on viaducts (465 km) for increased safety and reduced disturbance to agricultural land. Presently, 326 km of viaduct work is complete, and out of 25, 17 river bridges are constructed. The Surat–Bilimora 47 km section is in an advanced stage with fully completed civil works and track-bed laying.
The city’s diamond industry inspires the designs of Surat station. Designed with a keen eye on passenger comfort, it boasts spacious facilities and smooth multimodal integration, including metro, city buses and Indian Railways. Ultimately, when completed, Bullet Train travel between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be reduced to approximately two hours, significantly improving business, tourism and regional economic activity.
Shri Modi stressed the spirit of national service and pride in contributing to a “dream project.” Drawing parallels with India’s space journey, he requested the team compile their experiences into a “blue book.” This compendium of learning, designs and engineering control processes is essential so as to avoid repeated experimentation and ensure large-scale replication of future high-speed rail projects across India.
