Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor

The Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor is an approved high-speed rail corridor in India connecting the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad. If built, it will be India's first high speed rail line. The project is estimated to cost between 35,000 to 60,000 crore (about US$5.6 billion to US$9.7 billion).^[1]

Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor
Legend Mumbai BKC Station Thane Thane Depot and Workshop Towords Pune Virar Maintenance Depot Dahanu Maharashtra - Gujarat border' Vapi Maintenance Depot Valsad Surat Surat Depot Bharuch Maintenance Depot Vadodara Anand/Nadiad Ahmedabad Depot Ahmedbad

History

This corridor, along with 5 other corridors, was introduced for feasibility study in the 2009–2010 Rail Budget by then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The 650 km long high speed rail corridor was proposed to run from Pune railway station to Ahmedabad railway station via Mumbai. The point at which this route would touch Mumbai was to be decided when the feasibility report was prepared. The pre-feasibility study for the Ahmedabad–Mumbai–Pune corridor was completed by a consortium of RITES, Italferr and Systra.^[2] The top speed expected for the corridor was up to 350 kmph.^[3] The proposed stations included Lonavla on Mumbai–Pune section and Surat, Bharuch and Vadodara on Mumbai–Ahmedabad section. It was proposed to have 32 services between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Railway officials also proposed extending the corridor up to Bangalore.^[4]

Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the SNCF carried out studies on the project.^[5][6]

JICA officials visited Mumbai in January 2014 to discuss the details of the project and visit some of the proposed route. On 21 January, following several meeting between JICA and Indian Railways officials, it was proposed to originate the corridor at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. There will be 11 stations on the route, of which 7 will be in Mahararashtra. The team proposed other options for originating the line at either Bandra Terminus or Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, if the BKC option was unfeasible.^[7] Air-conditioned bullet trains are expected to operate in the corridor at speeds of 320 kmph, enabling commuters to traverse the 534-km distance in 2 hours.^[8]

The Maharashtra government was in favour of connecting the line with Belapur in order to bring high speed rail to Navi Mumbai. However, railway officials were opposed to the Belapur detour. Officials also discussed the need to ensure that the terminal at BKC would be connected to Line 3 of the Mumbai Metro, enabling commuters from South Mumbai to reach BKC. The location of the terminal at Ahmedabad has not yet been decided. The Railways is in favour of constructing it "a little away" from the current Ahmedabad railway station.^[9]

It was reported on May 28 in the International Rail Journal that the project was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting with the chairman of the High Speed Rail Corporation of India.^[10]

India may go with 500 km/h high-speed railway system as the standard high-speed railway for the country, as first railway line will be used as a reference for further development. Japan has funded $5 Billion for 65 km long 500 km/h railway line in US and waived the license fee for the technology in US.^[11]

Location of the railway station, it's accessibility, integration with public transport, parking and railway stations design play an important role in the success of the high speed rail. Mumbai may have underground corridor to have high speed rail start from the CST terminal.^[12] European experiences have shown that railway stations outside the city receive less patronage and ultimately making the high speed railway line unfeasible.

High speed railway may be feasible in India, if India uses economy of scale, high-population density, indiginization of high-speed railway, automation of track construction, common standard across India, larger - broader and double decker trains to increase the number of tickets in a train and to decrease per ticket price.

Cost

The project is estimated to cost 63000 crore (US$10 billion).^[13]

References

External links

• Preliminary Study

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