Vadodara: Construction of Vadodara station on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor has entered a key phase, with slab casting at the concourse, track and platform levels now complete and structural steel erection currently underway, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said on Tuesday.The bullet train station is being built above the existing platform no. 7 of Vadodara railway station near Pandya Bridge, making it one of the few stations on the corridor to be directly integrated with the Indian Railways network. The location has been planned to enable seamless interchange between conventional rail services and the country’s first high-speed rail corridor without disrupting operations at the existing station.The station will also function as a multimodal transport hub, offering direct connectivity with the existing Western Railway station as well as the city and interstate bus depots. A travellator planned under the parallel railway station redevelopment project will connect the new Platform No. 7 with both the conventional railway station and the bullet train station, allowing passengers to move conveniently between the two systems.According to NHSRCL, the station’s architectural design is inspired by the profile and foliage of the banyan tree (“Vad”), reflecting the city’s identity. The interiors have been designed to maximise natural daylight while providing passengers with external sky views.The station will feature waiting lounges, retail spaces, baby care rooms, restrooms and other passenger amenities. Separate parking facilities and dedicated pick-up and drop-off bays for cars, buses and auto-rickshaws have also been planned to ensure smooth passenger movement and minimise congestion in the station forecourt.Vadodara had posed one of the biggest engineering challenges for the bullet train project. The original proposal envisaged constructing the high-speed rail station by dismantling Platform No. 6. However, following a redesign of the alignment, the station was shifted to Platform No. 7, reducing project cost and construction time while providing better connectivity with the adjoining bus terminals.
