National Federation of Indian Railwaymen oppsoes Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project

The railway workers union — National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) has recently opposed the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. They asked the government to first prioritize work on existing train routes instead of focusing on the bullet train. Before the bullet train starts running, it is important to undertake repairs and maintenance work of the tracks across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had launched the bullet train project in Ahmedabad in September 2017. The ambitious project is expected to be completed by 2022 and will cut travel time between the two cities from 7 hours to less than three. The bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will run a total length of 508 km, of which 21 km will be covered in a tunnel under the sea. The cost of the tunnel is estimated at Rs 3,500 crores. The cost of the total train project is Rs 1.08 lakh crore. The headquarters of NFIR is located at New Delhi.