Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project

The expansion of transportation systems is critical to the advancement of a country’s economy. It impacts the societal and technological development of a nation. India’s first bullet train project connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad aims to make the country the third largest economy in the next 25 years.

The foundation stone to the $19 billion project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017. The bullet train is a sustainable innovation with significant environmental benefits in terms of reducing pollution.

The entire world is turning towards zero carbon emission technologies to tackle climate change and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project is a part of it. This intercity mass transit system would also decongest some of India’s major cities

Features of the MAHSR

The bullet train network covers 508 kilometres and will have 12 railway stations. The stations are:

Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex)
Thane
Virar
Boisar
Vapi
Bilimora
Surat
Bharuch
Vadodara
Anand/Nadiad
Ahmedabad
Sabarmati

The station façade designs are set to have ample natural light in passenger areas and external views of the sky wherever possible.

Rolling Stock

The rolling stock of the MAHSR consists of Shinkansen E5 trains. There will be 35 trains per day per direction, with a frequency of 20 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during non-peak hours. Each train is said to have a passenger capacity of 750 people. The maximum speed of the trains is 350 kmph, and they will be operating at a speed of 320 kmph.

Grade: Elevated, Underground and Undersea

468 km of the rail will have an elevated section except in Mumbai, where 27 km will be underground. The tunnels would be built using giant boring machines. 2 km of rail between Mumbai and Thane stations goes under the sea, so as to not disturb the dense vegetation in the area.

Safety Systems

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited NHSRCL says that the trains will be equipped with the most advanced signalling system as used in Japan’s Shinkansen Trains. It will also have an Urgent Earthquake Detection and Alarm System for automatic braking in case of an earthquake.

Other notable features include:

Power outlets for charging mobile phones, laptops etc.,
Special cooling systems and air conditioning
Modernized toilets for men and women
Wheelchair-accessible toilets
Multi-purpose rooms containing foldable beds for breastfeeding mothers and patients
Enhanced passenger information system to enable regular communication with the commuters on board. The LCD-display passenger information system will provide information in Hindi, English, Gujarati and Marathi. It will display the train number, name, current station, upcoming station, final station, news, information during emergencies, door opening side, speed etc.

The trains are also said to have first class, standard class, and business class seating, with modern passenger-aircraft features such as overhead baggage holders, LED lighting, reading lamps in first class and business class, seat leg rests operating in aggregation with seat tilting in first class and business class, etc.

Currently there are two operational plans for the MAHSR

High speed (2.58 hours): Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) – Ahmedabad (Kalupur) – Anand – Vadodara – Bharuch – Surat – Bilimora – Vapi – Boisar – Virar – Thane – Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex)
Rapid High Speed (2.07h hours): Sabarmati – Vadodara – Surat – Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex)

Long story short, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail is a crucial project to India’s economic development. Although it did face delays due to issues with land acquisition, the covid-19 pandemic, etc., the construction is still going strong.

It is expected that the rail will be fully operational by the year 2028.