India’s Indigenous Bullet Train Trials to Start by May-June Next Year: Ashwini Vaishnaw

NEW DELHI:
India’s first indigenously developed bullet train is expected to commence trial runs by May or June next year with commercial inauguration likely within two to four months after testing, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

Addressing the ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat’ event in Vadodara, the minister said the first body frame of the high-speed train had recently been completed and sent for squeeze testing.

“By May or June of next year, India’s own bullet train will be on the tracks for testing. After a testing period of 2-4 months, the bullet train will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Vaishnaw said.

The minister said project was being developed in line with the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and would significantly reduce travel time between Vadodara and Mumbai.

“When you ride the bullet train from Vadodara, you will reach Mumbai in just an hour and a half,” he said.

Vaishnaw said construction work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor was progressing rapidly with the Surat-Vapi section expected to be completed by December this year.

Highlighting broader reforms in the railway sector, he said the government was modernising railway operating systems, reservation platforms and construction protocols.

“We are reforming and modernising everything, from operating systems and reservation systems to old construction protocols,” he said.

Vaishnaw said several long-pending railway projects had been completed in recent years, citing the Chenab Bridge and the rail connectivity project linking Mizoram to the national railway network.

According to the minister, 280 railway stations have been redeveloped and 36,000 km of new railway tracks laid. He added that cargo trains incorporating Vande Bharat technology were also being developed.

He said the pace of railway infrastructure development had accelerated despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that after completion of the first section of the bullet train project in 2020, work on subsequent sections gained momentum.

“The modern face of Indian Railways that is emerging will benefit many future generations,” Vaishnaw said.