Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train: What will happen if earthquake strikes during the journey?

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is constructing the 508-kilometer Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor. The launch of the first bullet train service on the 97-kilometer Surat-Vapi section is set for August 15, 2027. The train will operate at a design speed of 350 kmph and an operational speed of 320 kmph.

To ensure passenger and infrastructure safety, 28 seismometers will be installed along the high-speed rail corridor and in earthquake-prone areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat. These sensors will detect earthquakes and automatically shut down power supply, activating emergency brakes on trains to bring them to a stop. This Japanese Shinkansen technology will provide early warning and protective action before stronger earthquake waves reach the railway infrastructure.

The 28 seismometers will be placed at 22 traction substations and switching posts in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Thane, Virar, and Boisar, and 14 in Gujarat around Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Anand, and Mahemdabad. Additionally, six inland seismometers will be installed in earthquake-prone areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat, such as Kheda, Ratnagiri, Latur, Pangri in Maharashtra, and Adesar and Old Bhuj in Gujarat.

These six sensors are placed in areas that have experienced earthquakes of more than 5.5 magnitude in the past 100 years, as identified by Japanese experts through soil suitability assessments and micro-tremor tests.