Construction of India's first bullet train station at Sabarmati commenced

Sabarmati, India (Urban Transport News): Amidst of stay on India's first bullet train project in Maharashtra by Uddhav Thackeray-led government and pending appeal of farmers in Apex Court, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has given green signal to the contractor to start construction of first high-speed rail terminal at Sabarmati in the state of Gujarat. Keeping in view of the deadline of the project and terms of the contract awarded, BL Kashyap & Sons Limited has recently commenced piling work of Sabarmati Bullet Train Terminal without any formal ceremony, showoffs and media attention.

The Urban Transport News had made several attempts to connect with Ms. Sushma Gaur Spokesperson of NHSRCL to know the current status of the ongoing construction work but she did not respond till the publication of this story. However, the contractor has denied to comment citing a controversial and national level project. The photographs of ongoing construction work shared by a local resident can be seen on one of our posts tweeted on January 28, 2020.

Last year in November, the NHSRCL has awarded a contract worth Rs 332 crore to BL Kashyap & Sons Limited for design and construction of Sabarmati High-Speed Rail Terminal as the contractor emerged as lowest bidder among the other 15 contractors. This was the first tender floated for the construction of high-speed rail terminal for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The detailed scope of work includes design and construction of Terminal Building with all required services and defined finishes along with Construction of FoB (Foot Over Bridge) including but not limited to planning detailed Architectural drawings, Structural design, Obtaining statutory and local body approvals, Civil and structural works.

Architectural finishes, Electrical works (LV & HV), Fire Fighting works, Rain Water Harvesting, Solar Panels, and the methodology to ensure obtaining IGBC Gold Ratings. The Sabarmati High-Speed Rail Terminal will be the originating point for those who want to catch the bullet train from Ahmedabad and terminating point for those who will board from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) High Speed Rail Terminal. The design of the Sabarmati Bullet Train Terminal is themed on Mahatama Gandhi's famous Dandi March of 1930. This terminal will be developed as multi-model transit hub with financial and technical support from the Government of Japan. The foundation stone of the project was laid down on September 14, 2017, in Ahmedabad by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  The construction of the project is expected to be completed by December 2023.