Passengers on board the bullet train, proposed to run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, have to shell out anything between Rs 250 to Rs 3,000 depending on their destination, a senior official said. Giving the first official indication of the likely fares of the government's ambitious project, Achal Khare, the managing director of National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), told mediapersons that the fares are based on present projections and calculations. It would be Rs 3,000 between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and as low as Rs 250 between Banda-Kurla Complex and Thane, he said.


Khare said, "The fares have been based on present projections and calculations. There would be one business class and the fares for this is likely to be higher than Rs 3,000."


"The journey will be much more affordable and less time consuming than in a flight, if the trip to the airport, getting boarding passes and security checks are taken into consideration," he said.


An official said, a taxi takes anywhere between one and, one and a half hours to travel between Thane and Banda-Kurla Complex and charges around Rs 650. But with the high-speed train, the journey time will come down to only 15 minutes and Rs 250 in fare, he said, adding the fares would be 1.5 times higher than AC first class fares.


A train set comprises 10 'standard' coaches, one of which will be business class. Food will be complimentary in business class and will be available in other coaches as well. Khare said construction work under the project could start as early as December this year, by which time land acquisition is expected to be over. -- PTI