Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Saturday reviewed the progress of Ahmedabad Railway Station redevelopment and the Bullet train project at Anand in Gujarat.
During a day-long visit to Gujarat, the minister went to Ahmedabad Railway Station with senior officials of the Western Railway Zone and inspected the construction work in detail.
“The design and appearance of the station will reflect the culture and heritage of Ahmedabad,” Vaishnaw said, adding that he expects the redevelopment work to be finished in three-and-a-half years.
According to the Western Railway, the redevelopment work of Ahmedabad station was awarded in November 2023 and it is targeted to be completed by June 2027.
“The project envisages a holistic approach for the integration of heritage monuments and the new City Centre at the station by providing world-class infrastructure in the form of Multimodal Transport Hub (MMTH), sufficient car parking, elevated road network connecting Kalupur ROB and Sarangpur ROB, landscaped plazas and concourse area above the track with passenger amenities,” it said in a press statement.
The Western Railway also said the architecture of the upcoming Ahmedabad station building has been inspired by the Modhera Sun Temple.
According to it, a 15-acre concourse plaza and a seven-acre mezzanine plaza have been planned over the railway tracks. “This concourse shall have a waiting area for passengers which will be equipped with facilities like toilets, drinking water, food courts, retail shops, kiosks and baby feeding rooms, among others.” “An elevated road network shall decongest the station and will facilitate multimodal integration of railways with National High-Speed Rail Terminal (Bullet Train), metro and bus rapid transport,” the Western Railway said.
After reviewing the station, Vaishnaw visited a 200-m-long steel bridge for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project. It will be launched over National Highway 48 near Nadiad.
Vaishnaw said the girder of the bridge was made in India with its fabrication components successfully completed at the Salasar plant in Hapur.
“The steel was sourced from leading manufacturers like TATA, JSW, and SAIL, ensuring high-quality material for the project. This highlights India’s self-reliance in infrastructure development and commitment to the Make in India initiative,” he said.
The minister also visited the upcoming Bullet train station at Anand and appreciated the pace of work. “Construction work on about 360-km route has been completed and the remaining work is also going on with great urgency,” he told reporters.
The Bullet train will run at 320 kmph speed on the 508-km-long high-speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad that will have 12 stations.
When asked about the deadline to start the operation, Vaishnaw said that work was going on with great speed and all efforts were on to start the operation as soon as possible.