NEW DELHI: India’s first bullet train will now cover a 100-km distance between Surat and Vapi in Gujarat during its inaugural run in August 2027, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday. He added that once the entire Ahmadabad-Mumbai bullet train corridor is operational, the train will cover the stretch in less than two hours.The announcements came barely days after PM Narendra Modi visited Surat station.Earlier, Vaishnaw had said that the inaugural run would be on a 50 km stretch between Surat and Billimore. The minister’s new statement is being seen as an indication of the increased pace of progress.Vaishnaw told reporters, “The bullet train will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in one-hour-and-58 minutes while stopping at four stations. However, if it stops at all 12 stations, the entire distance will be covered in 2 hours and 17 minutes.” The entire project is likely to be completed in 2029.Despite the new commitment to the bullet train’s inaugural run, there is a lack of clarity on whether a Japanese Shinkansen or Indian made high speed train will operate on its first run. The country’s first 508-km long high-speed rail corridor is being constructed between Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) and Mumbai to operate a bullet train at 320 kmph. The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2017 and was initially planned to be ready by Dec 2023. However, land acquisition, forest clearance and other issues delayed the project.On Modi’s recent visit, the minister said the PM was happy with the pace of progress. “He said that whatever we have learnt from the project must be used elsewhere, not only in railways and other high speed projects, but in other different sectors as well. We have done one innovation after the other in this project. It is a complex project and the biggest challenge was its design,” Vaishnaw said.
