Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project: MoU signed with Japanese agency for development of four station areas

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Ministry of Railways have partnered with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of four station areas along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) route.

The project, 'Station Area Development along Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail’ or Project-SMART, aims to improve accessibility and convenience for commuters and other stakeholders while promoting economic activities in the vicinity of station areas.

It will target four High-Speed Rail Stations, namely Sabarmati, Surat, Virar, and Thane, out of the 12 stations along the route. While Sabarmati is a Brownfield development, Surat, Virar, and Thane are Greenfield.

"The project would facilitate and enhance institutional capacity of State Governments, Municipal Corporations and Urban Development Authorities to plan, develop and manage surrounding areas of MAHSR stations," the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs said on Monday (May 8, 2023).

To promote this initiative, MoHUA, along with the governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra and JICA, has planned a series of seminars and field visits in Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.

The first seminar of the series took place in New Delhi on Monday. The seminar saw the participation of officers from the Japanese Embassy, JICA HQ, the JICA India Office, the JICA experts' team, the Ministry of Railway, National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited, MoHUA, and TCPO.

The ministry’s official statement asserted that these seminars will help in developing 'Station Area Development Plans' for the targeted stations and a model handbook containing the experiences and methodologies adopted in India, Japan, and other countries for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Station Area Development.