A distinctive railway engineering milestone has been completed at Ahmedabad railway station in Gujarat, marking the first time in the country that conventional Indian Railways passenger trains will run directly beneath a bullet train station. The complex multi-level layout features three newly constructed broad gauge tracks and passenger platforms situated underneath the elevated high-speed rail structure, establishing a fully integrated transit hub.
Three New Broad Gauge Platforms Ready for Operations
As part of the wider infrastructure development for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, the central terminal in Ahmedabad is being completely overhauled to house both high-speed and standard rail networks. Under this elevated structure, platforms 10, 11, and 12 have been fully constructed alongside fresh broad gauge lines. Platform 10 had remained shut to passenger operations since July 2022 to facilitate heavy civil construction work. With the lines now ready, the station will deploy these facilities to manage regular express services, Vande Bharat Express rakes, and local trains.
Statutory Safety Inspections and Final Clearances
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has already conducted a comprehensive inspection of the newly laid tracks and platforms. Ved Prakash, the Divisional Railway Manager of the Ahmedabad division, described the dual-tier station integration as a landmark moment in the modernization of Indian Railways. Operations on platforms 10, 11, and 12 will formally resume as soon as the final mandatory safety clearances and operational formalities are signed off by authorities, setting the stage for smooth passenger handling.
Network Decongestion via Asarwa-Sabarmati Bypass and Kankaria Track
To ensure that additional trains do not create bottlenecks around the junction, Indian Railways has simultaneously expanded local track capacity. A new dedicated bypass railway line has been laid between Asarwa railway station and Sabarmati A Cabin, which has also undergone mandatory inspection by the CRS. Furthermore, construction work on a fifth railway track linking Ahmedabad railway station with the Kankaria depot is underway to scale up operational bandwidth. Railway officials anticipate that these extra lines and newly completed platforms will streamline regional train movements and significantly reduce transit delays.
