Speaking at an event titled ‘India’s Vishwabandhu Approach to Global Relations’ at the Constitution Club in Mumbai, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday emphasised the benefits of the bullet train project in India.
Jaishankar said that a few years ago, he and Union Minister Piyush Goyal decided the country would work with Japan on bullet trains. “People think what is special in a bullet train, it is just a train, it will go a little bit faster,” he added.
20 minutes to Bandra Kurla
Stressing on the benefits of bullet trains, Jaishankar said that these trains help reduce the travel time by a lot. “Somebody living 150 km away from Mumbai can come into Bandra Kurla complex in 20 minutes. Think about housing, real estate, decongestion. See how urbanization will spread. When we started this project there was a debate,” he added.
The EAM also addressed some questioning the need for bullet trains in India. He recalled that when Metro first came to India, people had questioned it as well. “You all are from Mumbai, now you tell me whether the metro is needed or not,” he asked the crowd.
Construction is underway for India’s inaugural bullet train project, which aims to link Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The initiative was inaugurated in 2017. However, this project has met several delays on its way. A recent RTI from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on the completion date of the project revealed that the Indian Railways is unsure of it as all the work tenders have not been awarded yet.
(With ANI inputs)
