Mumbai-Nagpur high-speed rail project stalls as land acquisition office shut down

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The Mumbai-Nagpur High-Speed Rail project, once envisioned to run alongside the Samruddhi Expressway, seems to have come to a halt.

The office set up at the district collectorate for land acquisition and related work has been quietly shut down. Boards were recently removed, and officials say no further instructions have been received from higher authorities. The mood among locals and officials is one of quiet disappointment, as the once-ambitious project now appears shelved. This high-speed rail, planned to span 749 kilometers with 14 stations, was expected to connect 10 districts of approximately 1,245.61 hectares at speeds of 330–350 km/h. It aimed to ease long-distance travel and boost development along the corridor. The trains, with a capacity of 750 passengers each, were to run parallel to the Samruddhi Expressway on a 17.5-meter-wide track. The project also included 15 tunnels stretching over 25.23 kilometers.

In 2021, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) conducted a LiDAR survey and began preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR). Several meetings were held in MGM’s auditorium on land acquisition, environmental conservation, social impact, station planning, and farmer compensation. Yet, despite this groundwork, the plan seems to have lost momentum. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, the rail line was to cover 111 km, passing through 49 villages across Vaijapur, Gangapur, and the tehsil areas. Around 168 hectares of land were to be acquired 74 hectares of private land and 94 hectares of government land affecting over 600 land plots. The breakdown included 61.94 hectares in Taluka (23 villages), 37.10 hectares in Gangapur (11 villages), and 67.90 hectares in Vaijapur (15 villages). Proposed station stops in the region included Ajni, Khapri, Wardha, Pulgaon, Karanja Lad, Malegaon Jahangir, Mehkar, Jalna, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Shirdi, Nashik, Ghoti Budruk, Shahapur, and Thane. For now, these plans remain only on paper, leaving many wondering if the dream of a high-speed rail link across Maharashtra will ever become reality.

A total of 167.96 hectares of land was to be acquired:

• Private land: 73.73 hectares

• Government land: 94.22 hectares

• Total plots affected: 201 government and 410 private plots