Japan committed to bullet train project in India

Japan is committed to making the ambitious bullet train project in India a reality as soon as possible, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday as he lauded his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s “deep desire” and efforts to bring high speed railway network to India.

Japan is funding 80 per cent of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project through a soft loan of Rs. 79,000 crore at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent, with a tenure stretching over 50 years and a moratorium period of 15 years.

“In September last year, I took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new high speed rail service in India. I was struck by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deep desire to provide inspiration to the people of India and by the Indian people’s high hopes for high speed rail services,” PM Abe said in a video message to a high speed rail association conference being held here.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor has been plagued by land acquisition issues, but the National High Speed Rail Corporation which is implementing the project is sticking to the deadline for a 2022 launch of the project in time for India’s 75th Independence Day.

The bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will run a total length of 508 kilometers, of which 21 kilometers will be covered in the tunnel under sea.