Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: Timeline for completion not fixed, reveals RTI

Mumbai: A RTI query has revealed that the timeline for completing the entire bullet train project is yet to be fixed. The Railway has announced that the country's first bullet train will start running in Gujarat by 2026.

RTI activist Anil Galgali received the response from National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited that the timeline from completion can be fixed only after land acquisition in Maharashtra.

Galgali had asked NHSRCL for information on various issues. Umesh Kumar Gupta, Deputy General Manager of NHSRCL informed that the civil work for the entire stretch of 352 KM in Gujarat and DNH started in different phases from December-2020.

He further added that the timeline for completion of the project can be fixed on completion of land acquisition in the state of Maharashtra and award of all the tenders/contracts.

"As on September 1,2022, civil work is progressing at full pace in the state of Gujarat. All civil and track tenders in the entire length of Gujarat have already been awarded. Land acquisition is in progress in the state of Maharashtra," said Gupta.

Meanwhile, Galgali opined that pursuing such ambitious projects without thorough planning results in mishaps and cannot be completed on time and the contractors have to shell out extra money.

Bullet train work in full swing

The Free Press Journal had earlier reported that work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is now in full swing and that more than 95% of land acquisition work has been completed in Maharashtra, including 100% in the Mumbai Suburban district.

Ground work on the Mumbai section of the bullet train will begin soon as all necessary permissions, including environment and forest clearances, were received after the government in Maharashtra changed, an official had told FPJ.