Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe would lay the foundation of India's first bullet train in Ahmedabd.
The groundbreaking ceremony (bhoomi-pujan) for the project, coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 98,000 crore, would be held at a ground near the Sabarmati railway station in the city.
The schedule time period for completion of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project is estimated to be by 2023. However, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal is confident that the project would be finished by August 15, 2022, a year before schedule.
Following are the striking features of India's first bullet train
Project Cost:
The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project would be made in an estimated cost of Rs 1,10,000 crore with a loan of Rs 88,000 crore from Japan. The interest on this loan would be as low as 0.1%.
The loan would be given back within 50 years. Piyush Goyal told reporters that the grace period of another 15 years has also been given by Japan.
Distance :
The bullet train would cover a stretch of 508 km between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The stretch would have 468 km of elevated track with 27 km inside a tunnel and the rest 13 km on the ground.
Besides, the train would also pass from the country's biggest tunnel of 21 km. It would also run 7 Km under the sea.
Number of stations:
At present 12 stations have been proposed, they are Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
Speed and Time:
According to railway ministry officials, the operating speed of the bullet train will be 320 kilometers per hour and maximum speed will be 350 kilometers per hour.
By making its stop at all the above mentioned 12 stations, the train would take 2 hours and 58 minutes.
Number of rides:
The train will make 70 Ahmedabad-Mumbai rides.
Reportedly, a total of 24 high-speed trains will be imported from Japan and then rest of the rakes will be manufactured in India. Also, the officials stated that the reason behind giving this project to Japan is that the nations has been running the trains since many years without a single accident that ever happened on its bulet trains.
