In an important development concerning the country’s first bullet train project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, Japan’s Mitsubishi Precision Co. has been awarded a Rs 201.21 crore contract for the supply of training simulators by the National High Speed Rail Corp. Ltd (NHSRCL).
The letter of acceptance for the design, manufacture, supply and commissioning of the simulators was issued to Mitsubishi by NHSRCL on July 14. As per the terms of the contract, Mitsubishi is required to deliver the simulators within 28 months from the commencement of the deal.
NHSRCL will be installing two types of simulators at the High Speed Rail (HSR) Training Institute of MAHSR in Gujarat’s Vadodara. The first type will comprise a single train set stimulator for the training of the crew, while the second will consist of ten trainees and one instructor console.
“This equipment will help our staff such as drivers, conductors, instructors and train or rolling stock maintenance staff to understand the driving theory behind high-speed trains,” NHSRCL spokesperson Sushma Guar told Business Today on Saturday.
“Moreover, their acquisition will make it possible for us to conduct training for a single driver, single conductor, and collective training of drivers, conductors, and despatchers together,” she added.
A sample track has already been laid at the Vadodara institute for the purpose.
Launched in September 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart the late Shinzo Abe, the project was initially expected to be completed by 2023. However, owing to delays in land acquisition in Maharashtra and the countrywide lockdown announced in March 2021 to contain the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the deadline is now extended to 2028.
As of date, 98.81 per cent of land acquisition has happened in Gujarat, 100 per cent in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 72.25 per cent in Maharashtra. Speaking at a cabinet briefing earlier this week, Maharashtra deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis has assured that the state had approved all pending clearances to ensure the work on the project is again put on the fast track.
The trial run of the first bullet train will happen on the 50-km stretch between Surat and Bilimora in 2026.