Is India Ready To Bite The Bullet?

AT a high-level meeting of the Indo-Japan Joint Committee on bullet train project, the Japaneses counterparts placed several queries about the progress of the project. One reccuring query was who would head the National High Speed Rail Corporation, which is running headless for few months.

“While there are assurances from the government, many issues like environmental assessment has no clarity. Till we get a managing director, there is no one who can responsibility for the whole project. Bureaucratic hassles may delay the project, we fear,” said a senior official from JICA, which is partner of India’s ambitious Bullet train project.

One of the dream projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the slow progress of this huge infrastructure project is raising concerns among both its supporters and critics whether India can successfully implement the Bullet train project.

The high speed railway line will cover the stretch between Gujarat and Maharashtra is expected to cover 508 km in about two hours, running at a maximum speed of 350 kmph and operating speed of 320 kmph. The project is being developed with the help of Japanese agency at an estimated cost of about Rs. 97,636 crore. About 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come by way of a loan from Japan.

In December 2016, the railway ministry and National High-Speed Rail Corporation (HNSRC) signed a tripartite pact with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the development of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor.

However the underground construction and environmental concerns are causing sufficient delays.

According to a report by JICA, while most part of the corridor is proposed to be on the elevated track, there will be a stretch after Thane creek towards Virar which will go under the sea. The soil testing has already started and only if it gets the environmental clearance, the project can be started.

An official of Niti Aayog, who was part of the review meeting on the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project said, “There are many works which are pending including the assessment of environmental impact. Many experts have opposed the underwater construction, as it will result in substantial escalation in the cost of the construction. It seems difficult to start the project by 2018”.

The ground breaking ceremony is slated to take place during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this year and construction of the 7-kilometres undersea rail corridor will begin in 2018 and the Japanese are putting pressure to complete all clearance ahead of Abe’s India visit.