MUMBAI (Web Desk) – India’s first long high speed rail corridor will have a 21-km long tunnel under the sea, said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the public transporter’s ambitious bullet train project.
The 508-km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor will have a 21 km long tunnel under the sea, according to India Times.
While a major section of the corridor is slated to be on the elevated track, there will be a stretch after Thane creek towards Virar which will go under the sea.
Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore (Indian), 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come by way of a loan from Japan. The project cost includes possible cost escalation, interest during construction and import duties.
It is a soft loan for 50 years at 0.1 per cent annual interest with 15 years’ moratorium, according to the Indian railways official.
The bullet train is expected to cover 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in about two hours, running at a maximum speed of 350 km/h and an operating speed of 320 km/h.
At present, Duronto Express takes about seven hours to cover the distance between the two financial centers.
