Indian Railways (IR) has envisioned a high speed rail (HSR) network along the Diamond Quadrilateral, connecting the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Goa and Chennai, among others. For faster project execution, High Speed Rail Corporation [HSRC] Limited was established under Rail Vikas Nigam Limited in 2013, though progress remained abysmally slow initially. In the past two years, rapid strides have been made as on-ground work for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor has commenced and tenders for some major civil works have been invited. Other HSR corridors are still at the planning stage.
Through the development of HSR corridors, IR aims to transform the conventional railway network by doubling the speed of passenger trains to 350 kmph besides introducing world-class technologies. That said, uninterrupted execution will depend on several factors, land acquisition being key among them, as it continues to be a major hurdle (due to opposition by locals) thereby resulting in missed project deadlines.
- Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR: This corridor is the first HSR project to be developed by IR. It comprises a total length of 508 km stretching from Sabarmati to Mumbai. The stretch will be entirely elevated except the 21 km section in Mumbai where a tunnel will be built. National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the special purpose vehicle set up for the project, will invest about Rs 1.08 trillion for its execution. For this, the Japanese government has agreed to provide official development assistance worth Rs 800 billion besides providing technological support. The corridor will have a total of 12 stations and will deploy Japan’s Shinkansen technology.
So far, about 70 per cent of the design specifications have been prepared and land acquisition is under way. About 47 per cent of the land (of the total 1,379 hectares required for the project) has been acquired. A detailed survey has been completed on the entire stretch using the aerial LiDAR technique. At present, on-ground works pertaining to utility shifting is in progress. Meanwhile, contracts for five packages (of the total 25 civil work packages) have been awarded including the development of three training institutes and construction of the Ahmedabad and Vadodara stations. Further, bids for the biggest stretch involving the construction of a 237.1 km viaduct from Vapi to Vadodara have been invited with the last date for bid submission being November 1, 2019. Bids for civil works on another 87.57 km stretch (Package C-6) have also been invited with November 28, 2019 as last date for bid submission. Besides this, bids for tunnelling works (including a 7 km under sea tunnel) are open till November 15, 2019.
Construction on the project is expected to commence by March 2020 and is targeted for completion by 2023. As per plans, initially, 24 trains will operate on the route.
- Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar: The feasibility report for the 458.49 km route with six stations has been prepared jointly by France-based SYSTRA and RITES Limited. It is currently awaiting approval from the Ministry of Railways. The corridor is estimated to entail an investment of Rs 460.45 billion.
- Delhi-Mumbai: The 1,318 km Delhi-Mumbai route with nine stations is another HSR corridor for which China-based TSDI and Tractabel are jointly conducting the feasibility study at present . The project is estimated to entail a cost Rs 2.28 trillion.
- Other upcoming corridors: Some of the other HSR corridors being planned are the Mumbai-Chennai (1,368 km), Delhi-Kolkata (1,474 km) and the Mumbai-Nagpur corridors, all of whichare currently in the planning stage as feasibility studies are being carried out. For the approximately Rs 1.28 trillion Mumbai-Chennai HSR, the study is being conducted jointly by SYSTRA, RITES Limited and EY. The study for the Delhi-Kolkata HSR is being conducted by Spain-based INECO and TYPSA and ICT of India. The project is estimated to entail a cost of Rs 1.01 trillion. Meanwhile, Spain-based companies ADIF and INECO have been appointed for undertaking the feasibility study of the Mumbai-Nagpur HSR (798.5 km) thatwill be developed at a cost of Rs 1.18 trillion.
Conclusion
The development of HSR corridors will undoubtedly improve passenger experience by reducing travel time and network congestion. However, the success of the projects will depend on their on-time completion and acceptance of the high passenger fare, which is 1.5 times the existing fare for AC chair car. Further, delays in land acquisition, lack of trained staff to operate systems, delayed approvals, environmental degradation along the HSR routes and rehabilitation of project-affected people are perceived as hindrances to project implementation and completion. These have to be dealt with strategically so as to finish projects within deadlines and ensure feasibility.