Bullet Trains In India.

The foundation stone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Railway Project (MAHSR), laid on September 14 by the two prime ministers, Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe of japan, was a huge leap towards India and Japan converging and incorporating themselves in a long-term sustainable economic relationship. This visionary project heralded a new era of safety, speed and service to help the Indian Railways craft a pathway in becoming a global leader in scale, technology and skill.

The project will enable Indians to learn the Japanese art of precision in engineering and execution, and pick up innovative and sustainable practices through the Make in India initiative. The 500-km (310-mile) long high-speed rail link promises to cut travel time between the financial hub of Mumbai and the industrial city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state by more than half to under three hours.

The project will need about 825 hectares (2,000 acres) of land. The government has said it will complete the line by 2022. The cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR project is estimated at $17 billion (Rs 1.1 lakh crore). Japan will provide a 50-year loan of Rs 88,000 crore to finance the project at a 0.1% interest rate, which sounds quite tempting. However, given the difference in inflation between India and Japan, the Japanese yen is projected to appreciate against the Indian rupee over the loan repayment period, potentially wiping out the gain of a low interest rate.

Pros of Bullet trains:

1. Speed: High speed is one of the biggest reasons for the proposal of this idea when it was first initiated in India. The fastest train in India Gatimaan Express runs at 160 kmph for barely few minutes. Bullet train will see a leapfrog jump to 350 kmph top speed and average speed will be more than 200 kmph (depending on number of stops). This would save time and boost businesses amongst the connected cities. Reduction in commuting time is greatly required in Mumbai and other metro cities where a lot of time is consumed in the process.  

2. Comfort: These trains would use high grade technology to provide comfortable journey of long hours within just a few hours. Improvising on the comfort level of train journeys have been a missing factor in Indian railways and the introduction of bullet trains would be a great development in this factor.

3. Secure: Earlier there were questions raised on the safety issues of these high-speed trains but the Shinkansen network of Japan shows excellent records of safety. Ever since the bullet trains started in 1964, the Shinkansen has reported zero fatalities.

4. No luggage barrier: If you travel by flights then you have to arrive an hour before the departure for check-in and then wait at baggage claims after deboarding. This consumes a lot of time which won’t be the case with bullet trains. There won’t be any luggage barrier as you see in flights. So, you can travel freely with as much luggage you want and whatever you want. Airlines do restrict to take few things with you.

5. Stronger and eco-friendly: Not only these High-speed trains are stronger enough to carry heavier weight but are also eco-friendly as they do not require deforestations to set tracks. It is a modern and technologically advanced means of transportation which can be a step towards growth and development in India.


Cons of bullet trains:

1. Cost of construction: The cost of laying a bullet-train corridor is estimated to cost up to Rs 100 crore a kilometer. After summing up the costs of signals, rolling stock, etc., the cost can rise up to Rs 115 crore a km. Operation and maintenance costs would also be high.

2. Costly ticket fares: Fares of these trains would be high too in order to counterbalance the expenses and maintenance. One-way fare on Mumbai-Ahmadabad route is projected to be around Rs 5,000. Quite few Indians would be able to afford travelling with these expenses. And even those who would be willing to pay such a high price might prefer travelling planes instead. In a country where people do not value time much and try to cut cost everywhere, its yet to be seen how many passengers shift to bullet trains from existing means of transport.

3.Time taking project: The project is at its initial level of planning and it is predicted that the implementation of the plan would take years. In between if there is a change in government, and then the project could face the consequences.

4. Land acquisition: The Diamond Quadrilateral project is to connect about 30 major cities with 4 metro cities by high speed trains. For laying tracks, there would be issues of land acquisition which might trigger anger amongst commoners whose everyday living might come under menace. For instance, laying these tracks in Mumbai would require acquisition of land which has the largest slums in the city

Bullet train has its set of pros and cons under India’s present situations and they need to be properly managed so that it brings prosperity and development in the country and not debacles. Every factor must be considered sagaciously and safeguarding of people’s living should not be compromised. There are risks in this project but without risks nothing big can be acquired.