Bullet train: Work in full swing; railways to relocate 2,500 trees

Ahmedabad: As a part of Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train network, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is all set to develop the first of its kind hub in India, which is going to be constructed in Sabarmati.

The multi-modal Sabarmati hub has been designed in such a way that it would act as single point connectivity to connect Indian Railways network, BRT, city's metro and obviously the bullet train's Sabarmati station, which will 500 meters away from the multi-modal hub.

While talking to Millennium Post, NHSRCL spokesman Dhananjay Kumar told Millennium Post that the pre-bid meeting for the development of multi-modal Sabarmati hub has been held just a few days ago and the final tender would be opened in early October and it would be awarded within one month.

"In the pre-bid meeting, 16 concessioners mainly belonging to construction sector took part. Once the contact gets awarded, the awarded concessioner would have to complete the whole project in 30 months," Kumar said, adding that the exact cost of developing the major hub is yet to be finalised, but it is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 300-400 crore.

Explaining about other works being executed by the NHSRCL at Sabarmati, Kumar said, "We are very much concerned about protecting trees as the NHSRCL is committed to saving trees. We have started transplanting the grown-up trees by replacing them from one place to another. The NHSRCL has identified around 2,500 trees that to be relocated."

"We are doing it on a pilot project basis to relocate as many trees as we can. Given that success rate of survival of trees varies from 60 per cent to 70 per cent, we would procure our own tree planter machine on the successful completion of the pilot project at Sabarmati," the NHSRCL spokesman said.

India's first bullet train will cover a total distance of 508-km between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in 1.58 hour covering 12 stations, including the originating and final station.