India’s first bullet train will be operational in 2026, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced here on Thursday.

The first train is expected to run between Surat and Bilimora, a town in Navsari district of South Gujarat, he said addressing the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) here.

”The Mumbai -Ahmedabad bullet train project is progressing at a very rapid pace. Work on the 270 km track has already been completed. We plan to run the first bullet train between Surat and Bilimora in 2026,” he said.

The project aims to run a bullet train at 320 kmph along a high-speed rail (HSR) track between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, covering a distance of 508 km and stopping at twelve stations. It is expected to cut the travel time between the two cities from six hours to nearly three hours.

Mr Vishnaw, who is also the minister for Electronics and Information Technology, declared that the first ”Made in India” memory chip is expected to be produced soon at the US-based Micron Technology’s upcoming plant at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation’s (GIDC) industrial estate in Sanand.

Micron Technology started constructing its plant in Gujarat in September last year soon after India signed an agreement with the company to boost semiconductor manufacturing during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June.

Addressing the summit, Mr Sanjay Mehrotra, the CEO of Micron Technology, spoke about the opportunities awaiting India in the field of semiconductors.

The company, in collaboration with Tata, has initiated the phased construction of a cutting-edge semiconductor facility, marking a notable stride in India’s technological landscape.

The upcoming Micron facility, spanning 500,000 square feet of clean room space, is projected to be operational fully by early 2025. Micron is planning to create 5,000 direct job opportunities and an additional 15,000 indirect jobs, Mr Mehrotra added.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state has pioneered numerous dimensions of development over the past two decades, including the Vibrant Summit, establishing itself as the nation’s growth engine. Gujarat not only excels in startup rankings but also leads in cargo handling, contributing 15 per cent to the country’s industrial output and 33 per cent to exports, he said.

Mr Patel invited the industry both in India and abroad to invest in the state, assuring all possible assistance to the investors.