Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated on Friday that significant progress would have been made in the country's inaugural bullet train project if the previous Maharashtra government under Uddhav Thackeray had accelerated the granting of permissions. He emphasized that the introduction of the high-speed line will stimulate economic development.
During his inspection of the project, Vaishnaw spoke to the media and revealed that the Surat-Bilimora segment of the 508-km corridor linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad could potentially commence operations by July-August 2026. He further explained that subsequent sections would be opened progressively.
Vaishnaw outlined that the bullet train corridor will offer both limited-stop and all-stop services. He highlighted that the limited-stop trains will complete the journey between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in merely two hours, while the all-stop service will take approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.
A total of 12 stations have been planned for the project, which is being implemented by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). Had the (then) Uddhav Thackeray government given all the permissions faster, this project might have progressed much ahead by now, Vaishnav said.
He said as soon as the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis (Shiv Sena-BJP) government came to power in the state, permissions were given in 10 days. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Thackeray fell in 2022 after Shinde split the Shiv Sena with his rebellion. Shinde then aligned with the BJP to form the government and became the chief minister, with Fadnavis taking the deputy CM’s post.
The railway minister emphasized that the 284-km-long bullet train corridor viaduct in Gujarat is fully prepared, with rapid progress observed. He noted that a similar pace of work is now evident in Maharashtra as well. Regrettably, the Thackeray government's delay significantly impacted the project's timeline. Nevertheless, efforts will be made to compensate for lost time moving forward.