Bullet train project: Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inspected the slab track system for the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, in Kim village, Surat, Gujarat.
"Slab is the most important part of the bullet train project... The world's largest slab manufacturing facility, based on Japanese technology, is here in Kim Village in Surat," he said after inspecting the manufacturing plant.
'Equipment being manufactured in India'
High precision and highly skilled work is being done here in this facility and the testing and quality checks are also of very high standards, he said, adding earlier we brought equipment from Japan but now manufacturing has started in India. This facility will also help in future construction projects, the union minister said.
Earlier, on November 20, Vivek Kumar Gupta, MD, National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), inspected the Track Construction Base (TCB) and the Bilimora Bullet Train station construction sites in Navsari district to review the ongoing work and construction progress.
Nine out of 24 bridges on route constructed
The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) finished constructing a 160-metre bridge over the Kolak river in Gujarat's Valsad district as part of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, an official said in July. With this, nine out of 24 river bridges on the 508-km corridor have been completed, the NHRCL said.
The bridge between Vapi and Bilimora stations comprises four full-span girders of 40 meters each. Kolak River is seven kilometres from Vapi and 43 km from Bilimora railway stations. The river originates from Saputara hills near Valveri and meets the Arabian Sea, the NHSRCL said.
According to the NHSRCL, bridges have been constructed on the rivers Par and Auranga in Valsad, Purna, Mindhola, Ambika and Venganiya in Navsari, Mohar in Kheda and Dhadhar in Vadodara district.
Bridge construction on Narmada, Tapti, Mahi and Sabarmati rivers was underway, it said.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor will have 12 stations on its 508-km route, of which eight will be in Gujarat and four in Maharashtra.
Stations will come up at Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora and Vapi in Gujarat, and Boisar, Virar, Thane and Mumbai in Maharashtra.
