Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday visited a track slab manufacturing facility for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project near Surat, Gujarat.
Speaking at the factory in Kim, Vaishnaw noted that the equipment was originally imported from Japan but is now being manufactured in India, a move that will benefit future construction projects.
“This factory at Kim is the largest in India and one of the largest track slab factories in the world,” he said.
He stated that the workers there possess high level skills. Those involved in validation, testing, and inspections also demonstrate a high level of expertise and have upheld excellent standards.
He highlighted that the experience of manufacturing equipment in India, after initially importing them from Japan, will be advantageous for future construction projects.
The track slab manufacturing facility near Surat, established to support India’s first bullet train project, is equipped to produce high-capacity ballast-less track slabs utilizing advanced Shinkansen technology.
According to the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the project’s execution agency, this unit will play a pivotal role in ensuring the stability and performance of the bullet train tracks. It is designed to produce track slabs for 237 kilometers of high-speed rail track in the Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (DNH) sections of the 352-kilometer-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train
India’s first bullet train corridor, connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad, is being developed using Japan’s Shinkansen technology to establish a high-frequency mass transportation system.
The project, with an estimated cost of ₹1.10 lakh crore, is primarily funded through a soft loan of ₹88,000 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Originally slated for completion by 2022, the project encountered delays due to challenges in land acquisition. However, the government now aims to launch the first phase of the bullet train, covering the Surat-Bilimora section in south Gujarat, by 2026.
The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has achieved 100% land acquisition for the project across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
(With PTI inputs)