Mumbai- Ahmedabad Bullet Train Proposed Services Are Out

Five months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, the details of the proposed services are trickling out.

An official from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited has revealed that daily there will be 70 services between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. For this, 24 high-speed trains will be imported from Japan out of which 4 rakes will be kept in spare.

Of the 70 services, 35 will depart from Sabarmati while the remaining will emanate from Bandra-Kurla Complex. “During peak hour, three bullet trains will run per hour in both directions from 7 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 9 pm. On an average, two bullet trains will be operated per hour,” said Achal Khare, Managing Director, NHSRC.

He further said that each bullet train will have 10 coaches out of which nine will be economy and one will be business class. Moreover, there will be seven toilets with special provision for women and disabled person. “The coaches of the bullet train will also have separate rooms for women who want to feed their baby and for medically ill persons,” said Khare.

Each train will have a passenger capacity of 1,300-1,600 passengers. The system will be designed to operate trains at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour (220 mph), while the operational speed would be 320 km per hour (200 mph). When cruising at 350 km/hr (220 mph), a train will be able to negotiate the 508 km (316 mile) distance in 2 hours and 8 minutes. Currently, a train journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad takes 7 hours.

The first station for Mumbai passengers will be BKC but thereafter it will halt between Diva and Ditavali. “It will halt at 12 stations in all, including Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora, Vapi, Boisar, Virar, Thane (Dativali-Diva) and BKC,” said the official.

He further added that the Indian Railways propose to operate two types of services on the corridor. A ‘Rapid Train’ service with only two stops at Surat and Vadodara, and a slower service that halts at all stations. The ‘Rapid Train’ would complete the journey in 2 hours and 7 minutes, while the slower service would take 2 hours and 58 minutes.