Mumbai, Mar 26: As many as three trains to and fro between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be available within an hour during the peak rush timings. According to Achal Khare, the Managing Director of the National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the bullet train will run at every 20 minutes between 7-10 am in the morning and 5-9 pm in the evening.
The bullet train project, Khare said, will relieve the stress on Western Railways, which runs as many as 20 trains per day on the route.
The NHSL is procuring at least 35 rakes of the high-speed train from China's Shinkansen Technology. Each rake will ply twice a day, which takes the number of total trips per day to 70.
The project is targeted to be completed by 2022.
The NHSRCL expects the proposed high-speed train service to be widely used by commuters from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and vice-versa.
Khare claims that many of the commuters who now opt for the high-end flights would also end up using the bullet trains.
While the planes take one hour from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, the waiting period at the airports takes the journey to nearly two hours for the commuters.
On the other hand, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will complete the entire journey within three hours. The fare is expected to remain lower than what the budget carriers are charging for the aerial route.
As per the proposed route, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will stop at 12 stations, starting from Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The other stops are: Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Baroda, Anand, Sabarmati and Ahmedabad.
At present, the trains plying from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and vice-versa take eight hour to complete the journey.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2018 07:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).