Additionally, Shri Vaishnav has given updates on the
Elephant Warning System, a method to stop elephants and trains from colliding.
New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav declared on Wednesday that the 50 kilometer bullet train segment between Bilimora and Surat in Gujarat, which is the country's first, will be finished by August 2026. He presented a number of initiatives to enhance the nation's rail system and services. Additionally, Shri Vaishnav discussed the Elephant Warning System, a domestically built warning system designed to avert collisions on trains that came to light following a sad occurrence in June that claimed nearly 300 lives in Balasore, Odisha.
Shri Vaishnav updated the Elephant Warning System with new technology to
avoid elephants and trains colliding and to improve national connectivity by
building more lines.
The Minister of Railways further stated that prior to the epidemic, there
were more new trains in India: 2,124 instead of 1,768 Mail/Express services,
and 5,774 instead of 5,626 suburban services. He said that during this time,
there had been 2,856 passenger trains instead of 2,792.
With a goal of serving 750 crore passengers in 23/24, the railroads carried
640 crore people in total in 2022–2023.
Regarding the bullet train project, Shri Vaishnav emphasized the completion
of work on a 100 km bridge and a 230 km tunnel, of which the Bilimora-Surat
length is a part, as a major milestone towards the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet
train corridor.
Roads and railroad tracks must cross rivers or valleys via viaducts, which
are constructions held up by pillars or towers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
home state of Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Vadodara, and Anand have completed
bridges. Shri Vaishnav posted a video of these bridges on Twitter.
Progress of Bullet Train project:
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) November 23, 2023
Till date: 21.11.2023
Pillars: 251.40 Km
Elevated super-structure: 103.24 Km pic.twitter.com/SKc8xmGnq2
Since work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor began in November 2021, it has advanced steadily. The viaduct's first kilometer was done in six months, and it should be finished in its whole by April of the 50th year.
In addition, as part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, bridges would cross six rivers: Par in the Valsad district and Purna, Mindhola, Ambika, and Venganga in Navsari.
Some of these bridges have already been constructed, and NHRSCL, or the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited, has posted drone videos of them under the title "...Bullet Speed."
The anticipated cost is ₹1.08 lakh crore, of which ₹10,000 crore would be
contributed by the central government and ₹5,000 crore by each of Gujarat and
Maharashtra. The remaining sum will be obtained through a loan from Japan that
has an interest rate of at least 0.1%."