Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail: Concourse Of Corridor's Surat Station Completed

Surat high-speed rail station has become the first station on Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor to complete the concourse and rail level slab.

According to Nation High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the construction of 450-m-long concourse and 450-m-long rail level of Surat HSR station has been completed.

The design of facade and interiors of Surat HSR station will be diamond-themed, with the aerial view of the building also reflecting the shape of a diamond.

There will be four platforms. The concourse floor will have a waiting area and business lounge, restrooms, nursery, shops/kiosks, ticketing counters and customer care centres.

The ground floor will have parking facility, pick and drop bays, pedestrian plazas, security check, lifts, escalators and travellators.

The first slab at Surat HSR station was cast on 22 August 2022, and the last slab casting completed within a period of one year, on 21 August 2023.

In order to expedite the bullet train project, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is slated to chair a high level meeting with Japanese delegation on 1 September. The last meeting was co-chaired by Mori Masafumi, special adviser to the Japanese Prime Minister.

Senior officials from the Railway Ministry and the Japanese government are scheduled to participate in the crucial meeting to take stock of the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor project.

The joint committee is slated to take the final call on finalising the cost of rolling stock (trains).

The joint committee is the highest consultative body for taking ahead projects of mutual interests and benefits. The meeting gains significance considering that the NHSRCL, the agency implementing the project, has bid out all the civil contracts for this 508 km high-speed rail project.

Recently, the NHSRCL had invited bids for procurement of 24 E5 Series Shinkansen trainsets costing around Rs 11,000 crore.

The government targets to run the first such train in 2027, in the Gujarat portion of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai corridor.

Only Japanese players are allowed in the procurement of rolling stock as per the funding norms of Japan International Cooperation Agency and barely a couple of Japanese rolling stock majors such as Hitachi Rail and Kawasaki Heavy Industries produce such trainsets.

The companies will have to submit their bids by October end. Each Shinkansen trainset will have 10 coaches and can accommodate 690 passengers. The trainsets will be modified for harsh Indian summers and omnipresent dust.