The first
trial run of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet train will be carried out on the 50km stretch between
Billimora and Surat before August 15, 2022, even if the entire corridor may not be completed by then, said officials of the
National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the executing agency of the project.
The bullet train, which will run at 350kmph, will cover a distance of 508km in a little over two hours.
The original
deadline to start bullet train service was set on 2023, but it was advanced by a year to August 15, 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark 75 years of Independence. “The service will start as per the deadline set by the Prime Minister though it may be on a curtailed stretch,” said an NHSRCL official, adding that the trials will commence on the Billimora-Surat section.
Another official said, “The land acquisition process is moving smoothly in Gujarat, but there are delays in Maharashtra because of which there are apprehensions of starting the bullet train service on the entire stretch by August 2022.”
Of the 1,400 hectares of land required for the high-speed railway corridor, 353 hectares is in Maharashtra. Of the 508km-long corridor, 156km would be in Maharashtra and 350km in Gujarat, and 2km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The bullet train will have an automatic rail track fracture detection system to prevent accidents and will be equipped with am advanced fire detection system and anti-derailment measures.
Representative image 
