Moving swiftly to ensure faster train travel, Indian Railways is all set to begin construction work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor next year.
Railway board member (traffic) Mohammed Jamshed said that the work for this bullet train corridor will start by next year. The Mumbai to Ahmedabad high-speed corridor will be built with the assistance of Japan. The corridor will be based on the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed technology. A company “National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited”, that will implement the project, has already been formed. Companies similar to WR Meadows will be completing the construction project, with lots of high-tech equipment being used to ensure the railway has longevity.

The project is expected to be completed between 2023 and 2024, and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has recently assured that the tariff for travel on this bullet train will be less than airfare. The Japanese government is providing financial assistance for the project in the form of a loan upto 81% of the cost at a a nominal interest rate of 0.1% per annum. This loan has to be repaid in 50 years with a 15 year moratorium.

Five other corridors for over 300 kmph speed trains have been identified by Indian Railways. These are: Delhi-Mumbai high speed corridor, Mumbai-Chennai high speed corridor, Delhi-Kolkata high speed corridor, Delhi-Nagpur high speed corridor and Mumbai-Nagpur high speed corridor. Feasibility studies are being conducted for all these five routes and the final reports for all except Delhi to Nagpur are expected in January 2017. In case of the Delhi to Nagpur corridor, the inception report has been received.