October 11, 2025: Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that India’s first bullet train will commence operations by August 2027. Speaking at the inaugural Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference held at Ganpat University in Mehsana, Vaishnaw said the project is advancing rapidly, particularly in Gujarat.
“The work on the bullet train is progressing smoothly in Gujarat — wire ducts have been completed, girders installed, and work on tracks and electric systems is underway. Japanese Minister Nakano recently visited Gujarat to review the project’s progress. We are targeting August 2027 for the first run,” the minister stated.
Earlier, on October 3, Vaishnaw and Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Hiromasa Nakano, jointly inspected the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project sites in Surat and Mumbai.
The 508-kilometre corridor will link 12 stations — from Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex to Sabarmati in Ahmedabad — passing through key locations including Thane, Surat, Vadodara and Anand. The foundation stone for the ₹1.1 lakh crore project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2017.
According to the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the project has achieved notable milestones. Approximately 323 kilometres of viaduct and 399 kilometres of pier work have been completed, alongside 17 river bridges and nine steel bridges. Construction of seven mountain tunnels in Palghar is in progress, while the 21-km tunnel between Bandra Kurla Complex and Shilphata has seen five kilometres completed.
Vaishnaw highlighted Gujarat’s exceptional infrastructure growth, noting that the state has built 2,764 kilometres of new railway lines in the past 11 years — exceeding the total railway network of Denmark. He added that Gujarat has attracted ₹1.46 lakh crore in railway investments and Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the semiconductor sector, underscoring the state’s growing role in India’s industrial and technological transformation.
Source: Hindustan Times
