Rail Analysis India Dec Edition 2017 Digital Magazine | Page 102

Article | 101
102 | Article
work has started on the
Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail :
MAHSR PROJECT
Project Brief : The Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail
Corridor is connecting the cities of Ahmedabad in Gujarat,
and Mumbai in Maharashtra.
It will be India’s first high-speed rail line in India. The
Inauguration was on 14 September 2017 as per schedule and
the first bullet train is scheduled to leave for its first run on 15
August 2022.
Cost of the Project :
1. The project is estimated to cost Rs 1.1 lakh crore (US$17
billion).
2. JICA agreed to fund 81% of the total project cost Rs
88,087 crore (US$14 billion), through a 50-year loan at
an interest rate of 0.1% with a moratorium on repayments
up to 15 years and the remaining cost will be borne by the
state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The corridor will use E5 Series Shinkansen.
Key Points of the Project -:
1. On 14 September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe launched the
Rs 1.10 trillion bullet train project in Ahmedabad.
2. Japan is extending a soft loan of around Rs88,000 crore
for the project, at an interest rate of 0.1%, to be repaid in
50 years with a 15-year grace period.
3. The Indian Railways will require only around 825
hectares of land for the project as 92% of the route will
be elevated, 6% will go through tunnels & only 2% will be
on the ground.
4. A team of Japanese engineers in India has started design
work for the country’s first bullet train project connecting
Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
5. The 100-member design team is mainly working on
tweaking the engineering of the Shinkansen technology
to mould it to Indian conditions.
6. The Indian government has decided to create an institute
in Vadodara, Gujarat, to work on R&D for the bullet train
project.
7. That institute is under development.
Rolling Stock :
1. The bullet train will run at a maximum speed of 350 km
per hour, covering the 508-km stretch in under three
hours.
2. The bullet train will run at an average speed of 320 km
per hour
3. The railways would run about around 35 bullet trains
when it starts operation with about 70 trips per day. The
number of trains would be increased to 105 trains in 2050.
4. Initially, the train would have 10 coaches with a total
seating capacity of 750 passengers. Later, it is proposed
to have 16 coaches with a seating capacity of 1,250
passengers
Stations :
1. The line will have 12 stations.
2. Proposed stations are Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar,
Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand and
Ahmedabad, Sabarmati.
Current Status :
20 Dec, 2017:
Work has begun on undersea tunnel of India’s first Bullet
Train project between Mumbai & Ahmedabad. National High
Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), which is overseeing
the project, aims to complete the undersea tunnel by August
15, 2022, according to Achal Khare, MD, NHSRCL.
The tunnel will be constructed 25-40 metres below the
seabed. Engineers from India & Japan have begun to collect
data on the seabed in December last year. A final report is
to be submitted by January. The 508 km long bullet train will
pass through 21 km under the sea. The construction cost of
the tunnel is estimate to cost around Rs 3500 crore.
Japanese Railway Industry :
An Overview
The Rail Transportation services in Japan are
provided by more than 100 private sector companies,
which include: Ownership - Japan Railways :
• The division of operations began in April in 1987, but it is not
privatised immediately. The government initially retained the
ownership of the companies. The privatization began in early
1990s.
•
•
•
6 companies of Japan Railways Group (JR), which
provide passenger services
16 major regional companies, which provide railway
services as part of their corporate operations
The nationwide JR freight company
Further there are dozens of smaller local private railways.
THE JAPAN RAILWAYS GROUP (JR) :
In Japan, the Japan Railways Group (JR) is the major operator
of Rail Transport, consists of 6 companies that took over
most of the assets & operations of the government owned
Japanese National Railways on April 1, 1987.
The government in 1987, took steps to divide & privatize JNR
(Japanese National Railways).
All the shares of JR East, JR Central & JR West had been
offered to the market by 2006 and are now traded publicly.
On the other hand, all of the shares of JR Hokkaido, JR
Shikoku, JR Kyushu and JR Freight are still owned by Japan
Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, an
independent administrative institution of the state
RAIL TECHNOLOGY IN JAPAN :
The JR Group consists of 7 operating companies and 2 other
companies that do not provide rail service. The operating
companies are organized into 6 passenger operators and a
nationwide freight operator. The improvement in rail technology has generally focused
on safety & speed, which are the two important characteristics
of rail transport. These factors are of course not enough, but
the focus of railway development will probably remain there.
Unlike some other groups of companies, the JR Group is
made up of independent companies, and it does not have
group headquarters or a holding company to set the overall
business policy. The 6 passenger railways of the JR Group
are separated by region. While, the social environment in which railways operate
is evolving, meaning that it will become necessary for the
development of rail technology to orient itself in slightly
different directions.
04 Dec, 2017:
The Railways has begun acquisition of land for the bullet
train project between Mumbai & Ahmedabad. The national
transporter require 1,100 hectares of land for cons