Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday shared an update on the completion of another milestone of the ongoing Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project. The minister shared a video of India’s first ballastless track system being developed for the bullet train.

The video shared on X (formerly Twitter) showcased the development of the special J-slab ballastless track system between the two metropolitan cities. As per the minister, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has completed the viaduct work on the 153 km stretch of the project, which has a 320 kmph speed barrier. NHSRCL has also completed the 295.5 km of pier work on the 508-km-long corridor, which is scheduled to be operational by 2026.

“Bharat’s first ballastless track for Bullet Train. 320 kmph speed threshold, 153 km of viaduct completed, 295.5 km of pier work completed. More to come in Modi 3.0,” the railway minister said posting the video.

What is ballastless track?

Ballastless track, or ‘slab track’, is gaining popularity in several nations. India has used the special J-slab system featuring pre-cast track slabs meticulously equipped with fastening devices and rails.

These pre-cast track slabs are placed on the reinforced concrete (RC) track bed and cement asphalt mortar, which is constructed in situ at the site for individual up and down track lines on the viaduct top. 

These track slabs were cast in two facilities in Anand and Kim in Gujarat.

Bullet train project:

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor project, being developed at the cost of ₹1.08 lakh crore, was launched by PM Narendra Modi and his then-Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in September 2017.

As per the shareholding pattern, the central government will pay ₹10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while Gujarat and Maharashtra are to pay ₹5,000 crore each. The rest of the cost is by way of a loan at 0.1 per cent interest from Japan.