With a vision to make the railway system in the country future ready and transform the conventional railway network, Indian Railways (IR) has introduced the high speed rail (HSR) system. The aim is to provide safe, reliable and sustainable HSR networks with technological excellence for the development of the nation. In the coming years, the HSR corridors will connect all the important Indian cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Varanasi, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Chennai and Chandigarh. HSR corridors will double the speed of passenger trains to 350 km per hour and facilitate the introduction of other world-class technologies. India’s first HSR corridor, which is under construction, is the 508.09 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor. The project has made significant progress in the past few years. Construction activities on the corridor have commenced and contracts for major civil works have been awarded. The corridor will be equipped to handle 17,900 passengers one way on a daily basis, which will be increased to 92,900 passengers in the future. According to National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), passengers will be ferried in 35 daily train trips.
Indian Infrastructure takes a look at the key features of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, the progress so far, the issues faced and the way forward…
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor project is a flagship project of IR that will connect the two financial hubs of the country. It is being implemented by NHSRCL. The company has been incorporated with 50 per cent equity from the Ministry of Railways (MoR) and 25 per cent equity each from the Gujarat and Maharashtra governments. The project was originally expected to be completed by 2023. However, owing to various issues pertaining to land acquisition and delays on account of outbreak of the pandemic, the project is now expected to be completed by 2027.
Features and design
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor has a design speed of 350 km per hour. However, its operational speed is expected to be around 320 km per hour. The corridor has a total of 12 planned stations, namely, Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. Of these, eight are in Gujarat and four in Maharashtra. Except for Mumbai, which is an underground station, all the other stations will be elevated. Once completed, the HSR corridor will reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad from eight hours to around two hours. India’s HSR corridor will deploy one of the best global technologies, the Japanese Shinkansen system. The Shinkansen system has the highest safety levels in the world and a record of zero passenger fatalities since its inception in Japan in 1964. The project is receiving Japanese assistance for development and understanding of the technology.
Of the 508.09 km length, 465 km will be viaducts, 9.82 km bridges, 6.75 km will be bank cut and cover, 21 km undersea tunnels and 5.22 km will be mountain tunnels. Further, an HSR training institute, three rolling stock depots and eight maintenance depots are planned under the project. The HSR training institute has been set up in Vadodara, in which selected engineers and technicians will be enrolled as there is a need to train drivers, technicians and engineers so as to familiarise them with the new system.
Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries and India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited have formed a joint venture to manufacture rolling stock for the project. The manufacturing will be done at the Jhansi and Bhopal plants with technology transfer from Japan. Nearly 24 train sets comprising 240 coaches have been planned for procurement from Japan. The operational control centre for the rolling stock will be located in Sabarmati, whereas the maintenance depots will be situated in Thane and Surat. The rakes will have double skin aluminium alloy airtight body and floor with noise insulation. Further, noise insulation panels and sound absorbing side covers over the bogie will also be installed to ensure a comfortable ride. The train will have reclining seats that are ergonomically designed with seat leg rest and ample leg space.
The trains will be equipped with an advanced signalling system comprising train detection through coded digital audio frequency track circuits and fall back through axle counters. The signalling system will use high quality gas filled ATC cables that will help in the quick detection of cable crack or breakage. Further, the train will be equipped with optical fibre cable and a centrally controlled passenger information system for stations as well as on board.
Financing details
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR system is expected to entail a total invest of nearly Rs 1.08 trillion including escalations, interest during construction, taxes and duties. Of this, 81 per cent is being funded through a soft loan from the Japanese government at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent per annum. The time period for loan repayment is 50 years with a 15-year grace period. This implies that the loan repayment will be done in 35 years.
The remaining project cost will be borne by the Government of India. As per the equity structure of NHSRCL, 50 per cent is held by Government of India through the MoR and 25 per cent each by the Maharashtra and Gujarat governments. The Japan International Cooperation Agency has supported the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR with official development assistance loans of JPY 350,000 million since 2017.
Progress so far
The work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR corridor is now in full swing. Civil works have commenced on the total project length of 352 km, located in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, from December 2020 onwards, and it is in different phases. As of December 31, 2022, the piers have been constructed for a distance of 126.44 km while pile work has been erected for a distance of 227.62 km. A total of 24.73 per cent physical progress has been made in which Gujarat has achieved 30.68 per cent progress and Maharashtra 13.37 per cent progress. Meanwhile, the girders of 21.44 km have been launched. Rail slabs of 50 metres each at the Surat and Anand stations have also been cast.
In other important developments, the final location survey and geotechnical investigation for the project has been completed and the alignment for the same has been finalised. The project has received various approvals including statutory clearances relating to wildlife, coastal regulation zone and forest clearance. Nearly 98.6 per cent land has been acquired for the project. Of the total land requirement of approximately 1,392.6 hectares, 1,374.2 hectare, has been acquired. The entire project work has been divided into 28 contract packages including a training institute at Vadodara. As of December 21, 2022, 19 packages have been awarded, one is under evaluation, while notices inviting tenders (NITs) have been published for three packages. For the balance five packages, NITs are yet to be published. Meanwhile, of 1,651 utilities, 1,596 have been shifted.
Troublespots
Land acquisition has been one of the biggest challenges that has impeded the development of the HSR corridor. Owing to protests in various villages of Gujarat and Maharashtra, the land handover was delayed, which has led to time overruns for the project. Issues such as competition from air transport, cost escalation, upgradation of tracks to handle high speed trains, and establishing of common construction standards for infrastructure components will also impact the efficient implementation of such projects.
What lies ahead
Touted as a revolution in passenger commute, IR will take up more HSR corridors in the future. The MoR has undertaken feasibility studies for some routes of the Diamond Quadrilateral – Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Nagpur and Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru. Further, the survey and preparation of a detailed project report for the various HSR corridors has been undertaken. These include, Delhi-Varanasi, Delhi-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Hyderabad, Delhi- Chandigarh-Amritsar and Varanasi-Howrah. However, given the capital-intensive nature of HSR systems, the sanction of any project depends on several factors such as technical feasibility, financial viability and availability of financing options.
Disha Khanna