Gujarat Govt. allocates Rs 2,068 crore for Bullet Train and Metro Rail projects

Gandhinagar, India (Urban Transport News): In its state budget 2021-22, Gujarat Government has allocated Rs 2,068 crore for India's first bullet project Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor and other Metro Rail projects being executed/planned in the state.

A total of Rs 1,500 crores has been allocated for the bullet train project. While Rs 568 crore has been allocated for the under-construction Ahmedabad and Surat Metro rail project including Metro Lite and Metro Neo projects for Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. 

It has been expected that Vastral to Thaltej and APMC to Motera in Ahmedabad likely to be completed by 2022 under Phase I of the Ahmedabad Metro Rail project. The government has now taken up the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar connectivity.

It has been said that phase-I will also expand from Motera station to the Gandhinagar area. The allocation for the metro rail projects is also included funds for the Surat Metro project. The work on both the stretches Vastral to Thaltej and APMC to Motera in Ahmedabad has already been commenced and the allocation for the year 2021-2022 was made to speed up the work. Phase-II of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro will be completed by 2024.

A total of 1,396 hectares is needed for the 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, of which 956 hectares are in Gujarat, 8 hectares in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 432 hectares in Maharashtra.

As of 7th February, 2021, a total of 1,013 hectares (or 72.57%) have been acquired of which 904 hectares are in Gujarat, 7.65 hectares in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 101 hectares in Maharashtra, according to National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited.

Apart from these, the state government has announced the light rail transit projects for Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar cities hence the government has made provision of Rs 50 crore for the feasibility study. Rs 3 cr allocated for developing a heliport in the state.

It has been said that this is the highest allocation in a single year for both bullet and metro train projects.