Bullet Trains! Is India Prepared For It ?

The 508 KM Mumbai-Ahemdabad High Speed Rail Project has got a Rs 7000-crore boost, showed Budget documents “Pink Book”, released on Tuesday. This is also expected to fast-track the first high-speed corridor in India.

In September 2017, India and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding of this big ticket project for which Japan will lend nearly Rs 88,000 crore at 0.1 % interest.

The railways will require around 825 hectares of land for the project as 9% of route is elevated, 6% would go through tunnels and only 2% remaining will be on the ground. The train will begin from Bandra Kurla Complex where it is expected to connect with the metro line.

This project aims to cut the travel time between the two cities from 7 hours close to 3 hours. The bullet train will run at the speeds of 350 kmph with an average speed of 320 kmph and will stop at the 12 railway stations on the Mumbai-Ahemdabad route.

The railways would run about 35 bullet trains when it starts the operation with about 70 trips per day. About 10 coaches initially with a total seating capacity of 750 passengers. After every 20 hours of run each train is scheduled for 4 hours of cleaning.

The Indian Government wants to start the project by 15th of august 2022, on the auspicious day of India’s 75th independence day. At a time when the government is looking to sell debt-ridden Air India, the bullet train could cause another white elephant in the country.

Bullet trains! Is India prepared for it? OR is it another Air India that ll bust with debit.