Ashwini Vaishnaw shares timeline for India's first bullet train, Mumbai-Ahmedabad section to be launched in 2027

Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Saturday that the first bullet train is now under construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. He said the first section of the bullet train will be launched next year. "And the progress is immense," he said.

Vaishnaw said, “Next year, we will start the first section of the bullet train in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section between Surat and Bilimore. Then, section by section, immediately after that, we will go from Vapi to Surat, then we'll go from Vapi to Ahmedabad, then Ahmedabad to Thane, then Ahmedabad to Mumbai.”

"That is the phase-by-phase, section-by-section opening that will start from next year onwards," the minister said while speaking at the HYSEA GCCS & IT Roundtable at the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre.

The Ministry of Railway posted a video of Vaishnaw's statement, and captioned it with a quote by the minister. It read, “India's first Bullet Train enters its next chapter.”

Ashwini Vaishnaw's statement came as he, along with Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, visited Medha Bogies Factory in Kondakal, Hyderabad, on Saturday.

'Hyderabad to become high-speed hub'

Ashwini Vaishnaw also said that Hyderabad is set to become a "high-speed hub" with the introduction of three major bullet train corridors.

The minister said that the massive ₹5,400 crore railway budget allocated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bringing a revolutionary change to Telangana.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given three high-speed bullet train corridors to Hyderabad, which will change its landscape," Vaishnaw said while speaking after the HYSEA GCCS & IT Roundtable.

"From Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Chennai, and Hyderabad to Bengaluru--this will become a major game-changer for the entire region. Hyderabad will become the high-speed hub. It will bring a huge amount of development, and the economies of this entire region will become fully integrated," the minister said.

Significant reduction in travel time

Ashwini Vaishnaw said the first project from Pune and Hyderabad will reduce the journey time to two hours; the journey from Hyderabad to Mumbai will become 2 hours 50 minutes; from Hyderabad to Amravati, the journey will become 1 hour and 10 minutes; Hyderabad to Chennai will become 3 hours; and Hyderabad to Bengaluru will become 2 hours 35 minutes.

"So this way Hyderabad will have three bullet train corridors given by PM Modi," he said, adding that “it will be a huge benefit for Telangana.”

"This will transform the state, and large parts of Telangana will be covered by the bullet train project...the three directions in which the bullet trains will go, all these three directions will cover many districts of Telangana," he said.

Highlighting the growth in the technology sector, Vaishnaw added that Telangana has been a significant beneficiary of the Centre's electronics manufacturing programs.

"More than a hundred electronics manufacturing companies have been promoted under the electronics manufacturing programs of the Government of India, where Telangana has been a big beneficiary. In railways, a ₹5,400 crore budget is being given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Telangana. Because of that, a huge change is happening," Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

During the roundtable, the minister also provided an update on the ongoing "Nav-Nirmaan" (reconstruction) of railway stations across India, stating that 261 stations have already been completed at an "unprecedented pace."

Vaishnaw highlighted the scale of the transformation in Telangana, specifically mentioning the work at Secunderabad, Begumpet, and HITEC City stations. Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy and BJP State President N Ramchander Rao were also present at the event.