Hyderabad, July 12 -- Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the Surat and Bilimora section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project will become operational next year.

Addressing the HYSEA GCCS & IT Roundtable in Hyderabad, Vaishnaw said construction of the country's first bullet train corridor is progressing rapidly.

"The first bullet train project is right now under construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and the progress is immense. Next year, we will start the first section of the bullet train in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad section between Surat and Bilimora," he said.

The Union Minister said the remaining sections of the corridor would be opened in phases.

"Then section by section immediately after that, we will...