Bullet train’s inaugural run to cover 100 km between Surat and Vapi in August 2027: Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): India’s first bullet train will now cover a 100 km distance between Surat and Vapi in Gujarat during its inaugural run in August 2027, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.
Earlier, Vaishnaw had said that the inaugural run would happen on a 50 km stretch between Surat and Billimore.
The country’s first 508-km long high-speed rail corridor is being constructed between Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) and Mumbai to operate a bullet train at 320 kmph, covering the entire distance in 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Its foundation stone was laid in 2017 and the entire project was initially proposed to be ready by December 2023. However, land acquisition and other issues delayed the ambitious project.
“The bullet train, in its inaugural run, will now cover 100 km between Surat and Vapi in August 2027. Earlier, the inaugural run was planned on a 50 km stretch between Surat and Billimora within the same deadline,” Vaishnaw told reporters at the Rail Bhawan here.
“The bullet train will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in 1 hour 58 minutes while stopping at four stations. However, if it stops at all 12 stations, the entire distance will be covered in 2 hours and 17 minutes,” he added.
Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to upcoming Surat station, Vaishnaw said that the PM was very happy with the pace of construction.
“PM Modi said that whatever we have learnt from the project must be used elsewhere, not only in Railways and other high speed projects, but in other different sectors as well. We have done one innovation after the other in this project,” Vaishnaw said.
“It is a complex project and the biggest challenge was its design,” He added, emphasising that the entire project will be operational by the end of 2029.
Despite Vaishnaw’s new commitment to the bullet train’s inaugural run, there remains a lack of clarity on the type of train which will operate on its first run.
While the Railway Ministry has awarded a contract to a Siemens-led consortium to install the signalling system on the corridor, industry experts say that this system might not support the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train.
The ministry has also asked Bharat Earth Movers Limited to indigenously develop a high speed train capable of running up to 250 kmph.
When asked whether the Japanese or the indigenously developed train would operate the inaugural run in August 2027,, Vaishnaw reiterated his commitment to the deadline, saying, “We will cover the first 100 km in August 2027.”
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
