India’s bullet train to run by August 2026: Ashwini Vaishnaw
- Vaishnaw said that while there were initial delays in the project, it picked up pace after the change in government in Maharashtra
India's first bullet train is slated to run in August 2026 with a larger section planned for the year after, said railways and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, noting that the project will give a boost to the economy, as many of the companies supplying to the project had started getting export orders.
“The govt is targeting August 2026 for running first bullet train. The goal is to run the bullet train on a larger section in 2027," the minister said in response to a question at the CII Partnership Summit Tuesday.
He said that while there were initial delays in the project, it picked up pace after the change in government in Maharashtra, adding that "154 pillars for the bullet train have been done in one and a half years". The Indian railways is building the country’s first bullet train from Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Mumbai, Maharashtra over 508-kilometer route. The high-speed train will run at top speed of 350 kms per hour, covering the distance in three hours.
The ministry of railways shared the progress of the Bullet Train project and informed that the overall project has progressed by 26.33%. It added that the overall Gujarat leg of the project has completed 32.93% while the Civil Works around the project in the state has progressed around 54.74%. When it comes to the Maharashtra leg of the Bullet Train project, the ministry just shared the information about the overall progress which was just 13.72%, which was considerably less than Gujarat. It added that Under the project, 257.06 km of Pile Work is complete as of 28 February and 155.48 Km of Pire work is complete, according to the ministry. The progress update added that 37.64 Km of Girders were launched during the project.
In response to another question he said that hyperloop technology was still 7-8 years away, realistically, but it would have a good future in the long run. “It is about 7-8 years away if you talk realistically, but I believe sincerely believe that it has very good future one,” he said.
He also noted that investments in the Indian semiconductor segment were progressing, with the first few announcements were expected in the coming weeks.
“The first fab should be declared in coming few weeks. And that is just the beginning. We see the kind of interest which is there from so many other stakeholders and many other semiconductor industry participants. The way things are moving the state as well as center, we should see a vibrant semiconductor industry in the coming three to four years,” he said.
On the manufacturing side, the Minister highlighted that today electronics manufacturing is close to USD 87 billion as an industry in the country. The government has taken three major initiatives, creating the ecosystem, laying out a clear policy framework and focusing on developing the semiconductor industry.
"And now the ecosystem is also shifting to the country. When it comes to mobile phone manufacturing India is number two in manufacturing, and number three in exports," the minister said. This year, the mobile phone exports will touch $9.5 -10 billion, he added.
India's strategy of pursuing a combination of focused consumption and public investment path has led to sustainable growth and moderate inflation, the minister said.
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First Published:14 Mar 2023, 09:10 PM IST
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