According to reports , India is on track to purchase 18 bullet trains from Japan at a cost of Rs 7,000 crore in a unique deal, where the seller will have to transfer technology for local production.
It may be noted that the country is expected to get its first bullet train up and running by the end of 2022; the first train will run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and the high-speed 508-km corridor is currently under construction with assistance from Japan.
Report says, India is set to get 18 Shinkansen train sets from Japan, adding that each train will have 10 coaches and will be able to cruise at speeds of 350 km/hr.
It has come to light that Japanese manufacturers will participate in a tender that will be floated soon for the procurement of the high-speed train. The official went on to add that the advent of bullet trains in India will make train travel much safer and secure as Japan’s bullet trains are among the safest in the world.
Worth mentioning that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route is expected to be used by 18,000 passengers with a fare of less than Rs 3,000 between the two cities in economy class. Other than that, the trains will also have a first-class compartment, which will offer amenities like flights.
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Simultaneously, the Indian Railways will soon start the process of setting up a bullet train assembling facility in India on public private participation (PPP) basis, added the report. It may be noted that Japanese technology such as Kawasaki and Hitachi may set up additional facilities in the country, added the company.
“We’ll be inviting bids to set up an assembling plant here in India as well under the Make in India programme,” the official told The Indian Railways is currently aiming to meet the December 2018 deadline for acquiring land.
The entire bullet train corridor will move along a route which will have 12 stations, with about 350 km of it in the state of Gujarat and 150 km in Maharashtra.
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