In a bid to develop areas flanking high-speed rail stations, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Railways have jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for ‘Station Area Development along Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project’ (SMART).
The MoU was inked for four high-speed stations — Sabarmati, Surat in Gujarat and Virar and Thane in Maharashtra, out of the 12 stations in the route. Surat, Virar and Thane are green field projects while Sabarmati is a brown field development.
The project — SMART envisages to develop surrounding areas of MAHSR stations to enhance accessibility and convenience of commuters and other stakeholders as well as to promote economic activities in the vicinity of station areas.
