India’s Bullet Train Project Hits 50% Progress
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, a flagship initiative under India’s drive to modernise its transport infrastructure, has now achieved nearly 50% physical progress. As per the Economic Survey 2025, the project reached 47.17% completion as of October 2024, marking a significant milestone on the path to transforming intercity travel.
Sanctioned in December 2015 with robust support from Japan, the project aims to connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad via a 508 km high-speed rail corridor. This corridor is envisioned to drastically reduce travel times, cutting the journey between the two cities to a mere three hours. The service will feature trains capable of operating at speeds up to 320 km/h. Interestingly, the service model draws a parallel with the local train operations in Mumbai, offering both fast and slow services. According to insiders, the fast service—designed with limited halts—will enable travellers to complete the journey in just 2.07 hours, while the slow service, with additional stops, is projected to finish in 2.58 hours. This is a marked improvement from the current fastest service, which takes approximately six hours to cover the same distance. The ‘fast’ service is planned to have only three stops, namely Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad, whereas the ‘slow’ service will include multiple halts, covering stations such as Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, and finally Ahmedabad.
Managed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) and backed by technical and financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project has already incurred an expenditure of ₹67,486 crores against a revised cost of ₹1.08 lakh crores. The high-speed rail corridor, which will comprise 12 strategically located stations including key urban centres like Mumbai, Thane, Virar and Ahmedabad, is set to be India’s first high-speed rail network. Beyond the significant reduction in travel time, the project is expected to boost economic activity along the corridor and enhance regional connectivity. With meticulous planning and robust international cooperation, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project is poised to become a landmark in the nation’s rail infrastructure development, setting a precedent for future endeavours in high-speed rail travel.
