Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project failing to meet targeted deadlines
By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Sep 9 (BVI): India’s ambitious Bullet Train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is falling short of its deadlines and efforts are being made to make for the delays, according to officials.
According to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) monthly progress report, the project was facing a shortfall of nearly 15 per cent in execution till July 2025 as against the set target.
The overall physical progress achieved was 53.40 per cent against target of 68.22 per cent, a shortfall od 14.82 per cent, the progress report said.
The reasons cited by the NHSRCL for missing the deadlines include delay in tendering in Maharashtra, delay in floating tenders for Systems and rolling stock packages and also delay in major equipment mobilization due to port congestion.
Funded by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the 508-km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor was estimated to cost Rs 1,08,000 crore in 2016.
However, with delays and fluctuation of Yen rate, the cost has exceeded to Rs 1.50 lakh crore now.
The project has incurred Rs 4060 cr cost in the Financial Year 2025-26 while the cumulative expenditure is Rs 80,290 cr till July end.
The Gujarat portion of the project, which is 352 km out of 508 km, is slated to be operational by 2029, as per the latest target.
Meanwhile, NHSRCL has successfully launched the first Full Span Prestressed Concrete (PSC) Box Girder of 40 meters length through the full span launching gantry (FSLG) in the Maharashtra section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor, at Sakhare Village, Dahanu (Maharashtra).
The Maharashtra section of the Bullet Train corridor is 156 km long which includes 135 km of elevated alignment from Shilphata till Zaroli village (MH-GJ border), 103 km this elevated section commonly known as viaduct is planned to be constructed through 2,575 Full span girders (40 meters long weighting approximately 970 metric tonnes).
Other structures being 17 km through Segmental girders, 2.3 km steel bridges, 3 stations, 7 mountain tunnels (approximately 6 km) and special earth structures.
A total of 13 casting yards are planned along the alignment between Shilphata and the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, out of which 5 are currently operational.
This proven technology has been in use for the Bullet Train project since April 2021, contributing to the total 319 km completed viaduct in Gujarat.
Full-span girders are preferred for the Bullet Train project, as they enable construction progress up to 10 times faster than segmental girders.
The full-span precast box girders are being launched using specialized indigenous heavy machinery such as Straddle Carriers, Bridge Launching Gantries, Girder Transporters, and Launching Gantries. To ensure uninterrupted supply, girders are being cast in advance and systematically stacked in dedicated casting yards. (BVI)
