New Delhi, Aug 12(UNI) A parliamentary panel has urged the Union Railways Ministry to expedite the completion of the country’s ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) 508 km-long corridor project, sanctioned in December 2015, with Japanese technical and financial assistance.
Acknowledging the project’s significance as India’s first high-speed rail corridor, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways (2024-25) in its report tabled in Lok Sabha yesterday underscored its role as a benchmark for future bullet train initiatives across the country.
The total cost of MAHSR has been estimated at Rs.1,08,000 crores and an expenditure of Rs.71,116 crores has been incurred so far on the MAHSR Project as of January 2025 and the overall physical progress stands at 48.55 per cent, with key construction activities ongoing, noted the panel
While acknowledging the substantial physical progress made under the project, the panel headed by Lok Sabha Member of Parliament, Dr CM Ramesh, observed that the MAHSR project continues to face execution delays owing to the complexity of interlinked civil, electrical, signaling, and track-laying operations.
It also noted that definitive timelines for completion of the project being implemented by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), need to be strictly met.
The panel members, at the same time, noted that 100% of land acquisition has been completed, and all civil contracts have been awarded. Construction activities are ongoing across critical segments, including elevated viaducts, river bridges, tunnels, and station infrastructure, noted the panel.
Highlighting the complexity of the technology involved in executing such a bulletin trains project, the panel underscored the importance of continued collaboration with Japanese partners, particularly in the transfer of Shinkansen technology. It has also recommended scaling up indigenous manufacturing under the Make-in-India initiative to support the long-term sustainability of high-speed rail operations.
While stating that timelines for the project can only be established once all major structural components and system contracts are finalized, the Ministry, in response, informed us that construction activities are progressing on multiple fronts. These include elevated viaducts, major river bridges, tunnels, and station infrastructure.
Thus far, 383 km of pier construction, 317 km of girder casting, and 286 km of girder launching have been completed. The sole tunnel in Gujarat has been fully constructed, while in Maharashtra, 2.7 km of the planned 21 km tunnel has been executed using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), said the Ministry in its reply to the panel.
