Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 12 (ANI): Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the Surat and Bilimora section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project will become operational next year.
Addressing the HYSEA GCCS & IT Roundtable in Hyderabad, Vaishnaw said construction of the country’s first bullet train corridor is progressing rapidly.
“The first bullet train project is right now under construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and the progress is immense. Next year, we will start the first section of the bullet train in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section between Surat and Bilimora,” he said.
The Union Minister said the remaining sections of the corridor would be opened in phases.
“Then section by section immediately after that, we will go from Vapi to Surat, then we will go from Vapi to Ahmedabad, then Ahmedabad to Thane, then Ahmedabad to Mumbai. So that is the phase-by-phase, section-by-section opening we will start from next year onwards,” Vaishnaw said.
Meanwhile, the Minister also provided an update on the ongoing “Nav-Nirmaan” (reconstruction) of railway stations across India, stating that 261 stations have already been completed at an “unprecedented pace.”
Focusing on the iconic Secunderabad station, Vaishnaw noted that it is being developed in a “totally new form” despite the logistical challenge of maintaining regular train traffic.
“In the world, when they do a railway redevelopment work, they stop the traffic. We cannot stop the traffic. We have to be careful while the traffic is still there. We are constructing an air concourse, which is like a roof over all the platforms, while trains are actually moving. We are working very diligently with a focus on safety and quality,” the Minister said.
Speaking to reporters after the HYSEA GCCS & IT Roundtable at the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, Minister Vaishnaw stated that the high-speed corridors would integrate the regional economies and transform the urban landscape.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given three high-speed bullet train corridors to Hyderabad, which will change its landscape. From Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Chennai, and Hyderabad to Bengaluru–this will become a major game-changer for the entire region. Hyderabad will become the high-speed hub. It will bring a huge amount of development, and the economies of this entire region will become fully integrated,” the Minister said.
Highlighting the growth in the technology sector, Vaishnaw added that Telangana has been a significant beneficiary of the Centre’s electronics manufacturing programs.
“More than a hundred electronics manufacturing companies have been promoted under the electronics manufacturing programs of the Government of India, where Telangana has been a big beneficiary. In railways, a Rs 5,400 crore budget is being given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Telangana. Because of that, a huge change is happening,” he noted. (ANI)
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