India’s first bullet train project has seen its cost escalate to nearly double of the original estimate in a span of nine years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the first high-speed rail project of Indian Railways in September 2017, and after missed deadlines due to the pandemic, the first bullet train is expected to be operational from the later half of 2027.But these nine years have led to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project’s cost rising sharply, and the Ministry of Railways is now looking at approvals for the revised cost.The bullet train project is also becoming a platform for India’s own high-speed rail ambitions. BEML and ICF are developing India’s first indigenous high-speed trainset, with the first expected to roll out in 2027. The trains are being designed for operating speeds of around 250 kmph, with a design speed of 280 kmph.The government is already looking beyond the first corridor, with seven additional high-speed rail routes under consideration, including Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Pune-Mumbai.
7 more bullet train corridors planned
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train: Revised cost nearly double of original
The estimated cost of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project has been raised to around Rs 2.1 lakh crore, almost twice the original estimate of approximately Rs 1.1 lakh crore. A proposal seeking approval for the revised cost of the 508-km high-speed rail corridor was placed before the Cabinet on Tuesday, this TOI report said.Sources quoted in the report said the railway ministry has attributed the cost increase mainly to the prolonged land acquisition process in Maharashtra and delays in receiving the train sets from Japan.The full bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is now expected to be completed in 2030, while the first section of the corridor is scheduled to become operational in August 2027, likely between Surat and Bilimora. Most of the additional funding is likely to come through budgetary support, the sources said.
India’s High-Speed Train Plans
So far, the project’s Rs 1.1 lakh crore funding has come from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and budgetary allocations.Sources said Railways has also indicated that the high-speed trains will be manufactured in India, with each train expected to cost around Rs 390 crore to Rs 400 crore. There was no official briefing on the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.In January, railway board chairperson Satish Kumar had said the project cost had risen by around 83% to Rs 1.98 lakh crore. The project has experienced both time and cost overruns due to several factors, including delays in land acquisition, statutory clearances and finalisation of the trains.
Bullet train project construction progresses
Viaducts are taking shape across Gujarat and Maharashtra, and the tunnel construction is progressing near Mumbai and stations are being built.The corridor is being developed by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) with Japanese technical and financial assistance and will use Shinkansen technology. It will have 12 stations and trains capable of speeds up to 320 kmph.A major engineering challenge is the 7-km undersea tunnel near Thane Creek. The project also includes seven mountain tunnels and 17 river bridges. The corridor uses Japan’s J-Slab ballastless track system, being deployed in India for the first time, along with specialised track-laying machinery and training for Indian engineers and technicians.Meanwhile the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, has awarded BEML Limited a Rs 866.87 crore contract to design and manufacture two prototype bullet train sets capable of 280 kmph.Under the contract, BEML will be responsible for the design, manufacturing and commissioning of two eight-coach high-speed trainsets. The trains are scheduled to be rolled out in 2027, while sources told TOI that the designs are currently being finalised.The bullet trains will feature fully air-conditioned chair cars equipped with world-class passenger amenities. They will also have advanced onboard infotainment systems, reclining and rotatable seats and dedicated facilities for divyangjans.BEML has established a dedicated ‘Aditya’ High-Speed Rail Complex in Bengaluru for the production of the bullet trains.The high-speed trainsets, which carry the codename B-28, will be manufactured using advanced precision-driven technologies. Bullet trains operating in countries such as Japan and across Europe are generally designed to operate in cold climates. For the Indian trains, however, conditions involving heat and dust will be taken into consideration during manufacturing.For the time being, Indian Railways plans to manufacture the bullet trains using stainless steel. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has already announced that the next generation of bullet trains will be designed to operate at speeds of 350 kmph.
