New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on Wednesday signed the second contract agreement with Larsen and Toubro Limited for the design and construction of 88 km of viaducts between Vadodara and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, including the construction of elevated high speed rail stations at Anand/Nadiad, for the 508 km Mumbai- Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor (MAHSR).

With the signing of a fresh agreement, the NHSRCL has till date awarded civil contracts for the construction of 92 per cent of MAHSR alignment in Gujarat (325 km out of 352 km in Gujarat), which also includes five HSR stations -- Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Anand/Nadiad, a train depot at Surat and one mountain tunnel of 350 metres.

In November this year, the NHSRCL had signed a contract agreement for 237 km length of viaduct between Vapi (Zaroli Village on Maharashtra-Gujarat Border) and Vadodara for 508 km of MAHSR.

NHSRCL Managing Director Achal Khare said, "The NHSRCL team has signed two big contracts for the civil works of MAHSR project in the last one month. As the construction works will start soon, besides the steel and cement industries, the local industries, manufactures and allied supply chains will also get a boost."

"The construction activities will also create jobs, for which the NHSRCL has already started providing construction related training. The skill development training programmes will not only make the youth 'Aatmanirbhar', but will also improve their employability in the project," Khare added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Japan Premier Shinzo Abe had on September 14, 2017 laid the foundation stone for the ambitious Rs 1.08 lakh crore ($17 billion) project.

The initial deadline to complete the project is December 2023. The bullet trains are expected to run at 350 km per hour covering the 508 km stretch in about two hours. In comparison, trains currently plying on the route take over seven hours to travel the distance, whereas flights take about an hour.