Railway Minister reviews construction of Bilimora Station on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday visited the under-construction Bilimora station of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project to review its construction and track-laying, an official statement said.

Vaishnaw assessed the station façade, internal spaces, platform areas, modern passenger amenities such as the waiting lounge, nursery, restrooms, and retail outlets.

Bilimora is one of the 12 stations on India's first 508-km bullet train corridor being constructed between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.    The statement said the station façade is inspired by the mango orchards that Bilimoria city is famous for.    "The internal spaces and platform areas are designed to have ample natural light and ventilation. The false ceiling is hung from anti-vibration hangers to isolate the fittings from vibrations of the trains at high speed," the press note from the Railway Ministry said.   The station will have lifts and escalators for the ease of the elderly, people with disabilities and families with children, it said.   Across the station premises, plants and saplings are being planted to create a green and refreshing environment, it said.   "Dedicated pick-up and drop-off zones, separate parking for buses, cars and 2-wheelers, EV parking, etc, are planned for passenger convenience. Blending comfort with sustainability, the station incorporates multiple features of IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) like efficient use of water, rainwater harvesting, low flow sanitary fixtures, low heat gain into the interiors, low VOC paints etc.," the statement read.  The Ministry said that out of the 508 km length of the corridor, 325 km of viaduct and 400 km of pier work have been completed.   "17 river bridges, 5 PSC (pre-stressed concrete) and 10 steel bridges are already installed. More than 4 lakhs noise barriers erected along 216 km of stretch and 217 track km of RC track bed construction has been completed," the ministry said.   More than 2,300 OHE masts have been installed along a 57-km length of the mainline viaduct, and excavation for seven mountain tunnels in Palghar district is in progress, it said.  Five km out of 21 km of tunnel between BKC and Shilphata (in Maharashtra) has already been excavated, the ministry said.   The construction of rolling stock depots in Surat and Ahmedabad are in progress, and superstructure work on all stations in Gujarat is at an advanced stage.   The Railway Minister was accompanied by Valsad MP Dhaval Patel and Gandevi MLA Naresh Patel. PTI JP VN VN