1Research Scholar, Core Cluster, School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
2Senior Associate Professor, Core Cluster, School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
Online Published on 28 February, 2022.
India's first high-speed Bullet Train is all set to hit the railway tracks by 2026 as recently announced by the Ministry of Railways. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-speed Rail (MAHSR) Corridor Project is already in the making.
The Bullet Train will run through a distance of 508 kilometres at a speed of 320kmph. It will have 12 stops of 165 seconds each and will take two hours and 58 minutes from Ahmedabad to reach Mumbai if it stops at all 12 designated stations.
The 12 stations proposed are Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. Indian Railways will run 35 bullet trains when it starts operations, with about 70 trips per day. It will increase to 105 trains by 2050. The project requires around 825 hectares of land as 92% of the route will be elevated, 6% will go through tunnels and only 2% will be on the ground.
The focus of the paper is to highlight best practices, both at national and international level, with respect to climate resilient initiatives like harnessing of renewable energy, recycling of wastewater and rainwater harvesting, that can be adopted by National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) to make the system more resilient.
The paper is structured to capture the following aspects:
Review design/documentation from the perspective of environmental sustainability
Identify and delineate potential environment/climate related components to enhance sustainability
International best practices that may be suitable/adapted under local conditions
Suggest specific interventions and/or technologies in identified areas to enhance emission reductions and minimise/mitigate environmental impact.
Policy documents have been reviewed to understand the context of the proposed high speed railway system. The feasibility report of NHSRC was studied to understand the contours of the project and to identify and delineate climate components that can be enhanced to make the project more sustainable.
The paper concludes with recommendations on climate sensitive measures that can be adopted in NHSRC stations and the way forward.
Sustainability, Climate, Renewable energy, Rainwater harvesting, Wind power
