New Delhi: Indian Railways is soon exploring ways to launch the much-awaited services with the Make-in-India Bullet Trains. This comes as some difficulties and delays are faced in procuring high-speed trains from Japan.
According to reports, the Ministry of Railways is considering introducing indigenously built bullet trains on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route as there have been delays in finalising the deal for Japanese Shinkansen trains.
India’s Shift to Indigenous Bullet Train Technology
The Indian Bullet trains will have a maximum speed of 280 kmph, and operations will likely begin by 2030. As per several reports, the tender for procuring trains using Shinkansen technology from Japan, which can run at up to 320 kmph, is still being finalised.
Reports suggest that the indigenously built Indian Bullet train will likely operate along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route from 2030 to 2033, while the Japanese Bullet train will start in 2033.
This ambitious project has faced many delays but is now moving forward. Construction on tunnels, rail over bridges, and track laying is progressing quickly. As per reports, the Indian Railways has awarded the state-run BEML a Rs 866.87 crore contract to build the first made-in-India Bullet trains. Each coach will cost Rs 27.86 crore.
According to reports, the Railways previously planned to use Japanese technology for these trains. However, India may opt for indigenously developed trains due to slow negotiations with Japanese companies. BEML’s cost is much lower than the Rs 46 crore that Japanese firms wanted to charge for each Bullet train coach.
Since starting in 2016, the Bullet Train project has missed several deadlines, and the contracts for rolling stock still need to be finalised. According to the conditions of a loan from JICA, only Japanese manufacturers like Kawasaki and Hitachi can bid. These companies are expected to submit bids by the end of February, but no proposals have been made yet.
Originally, the plan was to use Japanese E5 series Shinkansen trains for the corridor, but now Japan wants to supply the newer E10 Shinkansen model. The project’s estimated cost has increased from Rs 1.08 lakh crore in 2016 to over Rs 1.60 lakh crore now.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned that the first Bullet train in India will soon be a reality. He noted the growing demand for high-speed trains across the country and the significant progress made under his government.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently inspected the undersea tunnel for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, known as the bullet train project, and expressed satisfaction with the progress. This 21-kilometre tunnel includes a 7-kilometre stretch under Thane Creek, connecting Bandra Kurla Complex station to Shilphata. It is the first undersea tunnel of its kind in India. Vaishnaw explained at the construction site in Ghansoli, near Navi Mumbai, that the undersea tunnel is being carefully designed and built.
Comments are closed.