India is planning to use the experience from India’s first Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project to shape its future high-speed rail network.
Instead of preparing a separate design for each route, the Railways plans to adopt one common design for the seven new bullet train corridors announced in the Union Budget 2026-27.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has started developing standard designs and technical specifications for future high-speed rail corridors based on the experience gained from the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project.
These designs will cover key infrastructure such as viaducts, bridges, tunnels and stations.
7 new bullet train corridors
The seven proposed bullet train corridors announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 are Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said work has already started on these projects, including updating project costs, finalising the routes and preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
Standard Design Library for Upcoming routes
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is also preparing a design library under the Bharat High Speed Rail Programme.
The library will bring together standard designs and technical guidelines that can be used for future bullet train projects across the country. To develop these standards, NHSRCL is working with leading technical institutes, including the IITs.
Why is Railways using one common design?
According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, using ready-made designs means there is no need to prepare new plans for every corridor. This can reduce the time taken to build new bullet train projects and make maintenance easier in the future.
He added that the common design will also help India develop its own high-speed rail standards, lower costs, and strengthen the country’s engineering capabilities.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Corridor: Route, Length
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor is India’s first bullet train project. Spanning 508 km, it will connect Mumbai in Maharashtra with Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
Once operational, the bullet train is expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities to around 2 hours and 7 minutes.
The corridor will have 12 stations: Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
