For Japan, this is the first export order for their Shinkansen, as most buyers have been put off by the extremely high price of their trains. The project is crucial for both the partners. He also says that the Indian Railways would run 70 daily services on the sector, putting the system’s daily capacity at over 53,000 passengers. Goyal says that the bullet trains would initially run with 10 coaches, with a carrying capacity of 750 passengers, though the length could be increased to 16 coaches later. But there would be a challenging 7-km undersea tunnel, part of a 27-km-long tunnel. To overcome the challenges of land acquisition, the single biggest factor behind delays of most infrastructure and industrial projects in the country, the Indian Railways has gone in for an elevated track for nearly 470 km, of the 508-km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. India would have 50 years to repay, with a 15-year moratorium. Of the total project cost of INR 1020 billion (15 billion euros), Japan has offered to finance nearly 87 percent in a long-duration soft loan, carrying an interest rate of 0.1 percent. Another reason was, of course, the excellent geostrategic relations between the two nations and the personal equation between Abe and Modi, who have met at least 10 times in the last three years.īut the winning stroke for Japan was the financing solution offered by the country. The Japanese system, one of the oldest high-speed networks in the world, has had an accident-free record for nearly half a century. Japan’s selection was based on several factors. Japan will build a dedicated 508-km long track for the Shinkansen and the project is expected to be completed by December 2023, though India’s new Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal, told media recently that Modi had asked for the inaugural run on August 15, 2022, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Indian independence. The highlight of the on-going visit of Abe to India is indeed this project as the two leaders jointly lay the foundation stone of India’s first high-speed train, linking the financial capital of Mumbai to the industrial hub of Ahmedabad, in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. During his numerous visits around the world, notably in China, France, Germany, South Korea and, of course, Japan, he had discussed the issue with his counterparts.Īnd finally, India settled for the Japanese Shinkansen train system, popularly known as the Bullet Trains. Almost since the day that Modi became the prime minister, he has been speaking of bringing the bullet trains to India.
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