Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project stuck, no consensus yet on land for station

The dispute

When the plan for a bullet train was drawn and announced in the railway budget, it was tentatively planned that trains would most likely originate from the swanky business district of Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The train was to run parallel to the Western Railway as an elevated corridor. Accordingly, the Ministry of Railways had sought consent of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to hand over a plot for accommodating a station for the bullet train, an MMRDA official said. The MMRDA is the special planning authority for the plush Bandra Kurla Complex and in charge of the land there. However, about a month the MMRDA in writing conveyed to the Ministry of Railways that it will not be able to provide space for a bullet train station inside the commercial district.

The reason for eying Bandra Kurla Complex

The consensus was to have the terminating station at the Bandra Kurla Complex so that the bullet train can have an interchange with the planned Colaba-Bandra-Seepz underground Metro line. With this, it was thought, commuters from south Mumbai can travel to Bandra Kurla Complex using the Metro and then zip to Ahmedabad. However, Sarat Chandrayan, a Western Railway spokesperson said, the alignment has not been frozen and the railways are awaiting a final report from the Japan International Cooperation Agency on the same.

The MMRDA’s reason for denying land

The MMRDA, which has a land bank of 180 hectare left with it and a buildable area of 20,000 sqm in the Bandra Kurla Complex, depends on commercial sale of its land to raise finances for costly infrastructure in Mumbai and the extended Mumbai Metropolitan Region. An MMRDA official said, “Our land is in a major financial centre and it is an important source of income for the MMRDA. The railways has extensive land in Mumbai surrounding Bandra Terminus and the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, both of which are close to Bandra Kurla Complex.” He added that a terminating station for the bullet train at the Bandra Terminus will also help the railways in integrating it with the suburban railways.

FEATURES OF THE BULLET TRAIN:

• The speed would be around 350 km/ph
• Bullet train will cut travel time between the two cities from the current 8-9 hours to 3 hours
• The project is estimated to benefit 12,000 to 15,000 commuters a day
• The line could have nine stations – Bandra (near Bandra Kurla Complex), Thane, Virar, Boisar-Palghar, Vapi, Surat, Baroda, Anand, Sabarmati (in Ahmedabad)
• Original concept included connectivity to Pune, as desired by Maharashtra government. However, Mumbai-Pune line will run over hilly terrain inflating the cost and has thus been for now deferred
• Final report on project by JICA is expected by June 2015