The Railways Ministry often uses its social media handles to share fascinating pictures of railway stations across India and keeps followers up to date with the developments happening in the railways. This time, the official X account of the Ministry of Railways shared a video of a Bullet train station being constructed in Gujarat’s Anand. The video provided a small tour of the station, showcasing both its interior and exterior features.

“Marching ahead with unwavering progress, the modern symphony of speed and advanced Rail infra takes shape at Anand #BulletTrain Station, Gujarat,” the tweet was captioned by Ministry of Railways.

Watch the video here:

Marching ahead with unwavering progress, the modern symphony of speed and advanced Rail infra takes shape at Anand #BulletTrain Station, Gujarat pic.twitter.com/HVcKJOx0XS

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) January 5, 2025

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor has been making steady progress since work began in November 2021. In 2023, the Railway minister announced that the first bullet train section in India – a 50km stretch between Bilimora and Surat in Gujarat – will be completed in August 2026.

Covering a distance of 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the bullet train is expected to achieve a maximum speed of 320 km per hour, reducing travel time to just 2 hours. It will start from Mumbai and terminate at Sabarmati after covering ten stations namely Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad.

The Railways will run 35 bullet trains when it starts operations, with about 70 trips per day. It plans to increase the number to 105 trains by 2050. Around 1.6 crore people are expected to travel by train every year when operations begin.

The projected cost is an estimated ₹ 1.08 lakh crore, of which the Centre is committed to providing ₹ 10,000 crore, while Gujarat and Maharashtra will contribute ₹ 5,000 crore each. The remaining funding will be secured through a loan from Japan – at a minimal 0.1 per cent interest rate. 

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to X on Thursday to share a video of India’s first ballastless track system being developed for the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Significant progress has been achieved for the Bullet Train, which has a 320 kmph speed barrier, the minister revealed. According to Mr Vaishnaw, 295.5 km of piers and 153 km of viaducts have already been finished.

He posted a video of the same on his X account and wrote, “Bharat’s first ballastless track for Bullet Train. 320 kmph speed threshold, 153 km of viaduct completed, 295.5 km of pier work completed. More to come in Modi 3.0”. 

Watch the video here:

Bharat’s first ballastless track for #BulletTrain !

320 kmph speed threshold
153 km of viaduct completed
295.5 km of pier work completed

More to come in Modi 3.0 pic.twitter.com/YV6vP4tbXS

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (मोदी का परिवार) (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 28, 2024

Ballastless track, or ‘slab track’ is growing in popularity in some countries for high-speed lines. Notably, this is for the first time, the J-slab ballastless track system is being used in India. The innovative track system features pre-cast track slabs meticulously equipped with fastening devices and rails.

This slab rests on the RC track bed which has a thickness of approximately 300mm and is constructed in situ (at the site) for individual UP and Down track lines on the viaduct top.  The RC track bed boasts a width of 2420mm, ensuring stability, National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) said.

“The bullet train project has to be seen from the perspective of integrating economies. In the first corridor that Indian railways are doing, Mumbai, Thane, Vapi, Baroda, Surat, Anand and Ahmedabad – all these economies will become one single economy. So you can have breakfast in Surat, go and complete your work in Mumbai, and come back with your family in the night,” Mr Vaishnaw said at NDTV Indian of the Year award on March 24. 

The projected cost is an estimated ₹ 1.08 lakh crore, of which the Centre is committed to providing ₹ 10,000 crore, while Gujarat and Maharashtra will contribute ₹ 5,000 crore each. The remaining funding will be secured through a loan from Japan – at a minimal 0.1 per cent interest rate.