Railways Minister gives important update on Bullet Train project

• The total cost incurred on the Bullet train Project till June 2021 is approximately Rs 13,483 crores
• This has been spent mainly on Land Acquisition, Utility Shifting, and Contractual Payments

New Delhi: Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday told parliament that the 'Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR)' project is the only sanctioned project of High-Speed Rail (HSR) in the country which is under execution with financial and technical assistance from the government of Japan. "A special purpose vehicle (SPV), namely National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has been formed to implement the project," he said in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha.

As per the Minister, the current status of MAHSR project is as under:-

• The Final Location Survey and Geotechnical investigation completed and Alignment has been finalized.
• Statutory Clearances relating to wildlife, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), and Forest clearance obtained.
• Out of total land requirement of approx. 1396 ha, consent agreement signed/regular award done for approx. 1046 ha land. 1342 out of 1651 utilities shifted.
• The entire project work has been divided into 27 Contract Packages including Training Institute at Vadodara. At present, 07 packages have been awarded and 10 more have been invited.

The total cost incurred on the MAHSR Project up-to-the June 2021 is approximately Rs 13,483 crores, mainly on Land Acquisition, Utility Shifting, and Contractual Payments. The project has suffered delays due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and slow progress in handing over land in the state of Maharashtra.

The Ministry has assigned the work for survey and preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the seven High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors to National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) which include Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore and Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad routes of South India and the same is under progress.

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