THE TRIAL run for India’s first bullet train on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai corridor will start in 2026 on the Surat-Bilimora section in South Gujarat, according to Pramod Sharma, director (works) at National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
The Times of India reported that 92 per cent of the corridor’s 508 km alignment, mostly elevated, is completed.
The corridor has 12 stations, with eight in Gujarat, including Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Bilimora, and Vapi, and four in Maharashtra.
Sharma said 212 km of viaduct construction is finished in Gujarat, and foundation work for all eight stations is completed.
The 50 km Surat-Bilimora section is being prioritised, with construction at an advanced stage to meet the 2026 trial run target.
For the Vadodara section, spanning around 8 km, the deadline is December 2025, but work may be completed earlier.
The bullet train station in Vadodara, inspired by the city's banyan trees, is being built over platform seven of Vadodara railway station.
The elevated rail corridor will pass over five railway overbridges and three underbridges in Vadodara.
Three flyovers are completed, with the remaining two expected to be finished soon.
Clifford had previously denied killing Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads guilty to crossbow murders of BBC presenter’s family
A 26-YEAR-OLD man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to murdering two daughters of a BBC sports commentator and stabbing to death their mother in a crossbow attack.
Kyle Clifford had previously denied killing Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Louise Hunt, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28.
However, appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court in eastern England, Clifford changed his pleas.
The court heard that Clifford tied up Louise Hunt, his former partner, binding her arms and ankles with duct tape before shooting her in the chest with a crossbow at the family home last July.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons. However, Clifford denied raping Louise.
The murders took place at the family home in the commuter town of Bushey, near Watford, northwest of London.
Clifford was arrested in July following a manhunt after the bodies of the three women were discovered.
(With inputs from AFP)