Bullet trains in India: Even as project work for India’s first bullet train – between Mumbai and Ahmedabad – is underway, Indian Railways is already considering the possibility of constructing high-speed train corridors for shorter routes. “We are studying all possibilities, but the understanding is that bullet trains and high-speed trains will work better on smaller routes because in those cases we will be able to offer a better alternative to airlines,” a senior Railway Ministry official told Financial Express Online. “For example, if one were to look at the Delhi-Chennai route, even if a high-speed train were to run at 300 kmph, the journey would take around 10 hours. Choosing an airline would be more lucrative for the passenger. So, it’s better that high-speed rail corridors are made on relatively shorter routes,” the official added, requesting anonymity. The railway official also cited the example of China, stating that long-route corridors of high-speed trains have not worked for the neighbouring country either.
As of now, China has plans to have the highest kilometre lines of high-speed rail network. At over 39,000 km, China is seriously taking up the construction of bullet train corridors, followed by Spain which has plans for over 4,900 km. If Indian Railways’ current plans for multiple high-speed rail corridors come through, then India will have the third highest kilometres of bullet train network at around 4,600 km. The Mumbai-Pune high-speed corridor is already under consideration, along with the Delhi-Amritsar route. Comparing the time taken between Mumbai and Pune on an intercity train, the railway official said, “From the present 3 hours, if the travel time can be brought down to an hour or an hour and half, then passengers are likely to use the high-speed train. That would make the project more feasible, compared to long-distance routes for high-speed trains.”
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PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in September 2017. The project is expected to be complete by 2022 and PM Narendra Modi has voiced his wish that the first bullet train roll out on August 15, 2022. The bullet train will initially have 10 coaches – the number will go up to 16 later. Indian Railways has said that the fares of bullet train between the two financial hubs will be less than air travel cost.
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Meanwhile, the feasibility study for the Delhi-Amritsar high-speed rail corridor via Chandigarh has been completed and is currently under review with the Ministry of Railways. Financial Express Online had in August 2017 reported that the bullet train between the national capital and the city of the Golden Temple would cut down the train travel time to one-third. The feasibility study, carried out by French firm Systra, suggests a base fare of Rs 4.5 km, implying that a Delhi-Amritsar journey would cost around Rs 2061 and that between Delhi and Chandigarh would be around Rs 1161.