Indian Railways to Fast-Track New Bullet Train Projects
Indian Railways has announced plans to expedite the execution of new bullet train projects by implementing a mission mode approach. The move aims to avoid delays seen in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor and ensure faster project execution.
Key Strategies to Boost Project Execution
- Bundled Clearances: Indian Railways will seek bundled clearances across central, state, and local authorities to speed up land acquisition and project execution.
- Standardised Designs: Standardisation of design across future bullet train networks will improve manufacturing supply chains for crucial rolling stock and signalling equipment.
- Pre-Cast Construction: Adoption of pre-cast in civil works is expected to improve the pace of deployment as the country firms up routes for seven new corridors.
Seven New Corridors Planned
Indian Railways has announced plans to develop seven new bullet train corridors, including:
- Mumbai-Pune
- Pune-Hyderabad
- Hyderabad-Bengaluru
- Hyderabad-Chennai
- Chennai-Bengaluru
- Delhi-Varanasi
- Varanasi-Siliguri
Learning from Past Delays
The government has announced plans to avoid delays seen in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, where the cost of building India's first bullet train project has reached nearly ₹1.98 lakh crore, up from ₹1.08 lakh crore estimated originally.
Fast-Track Government Approvals
Coordination meetings will soon begin with states where the new bullet train corridors are planned, said a senior official. A dedicated team of officers will work in coordination with local authorities to speedily acquire land for bullet train projects.