Bullet Train Ambitions

Plans for indigenous high-speed trains are laudable, but innovative financing models will be needed

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently stated that it won't be long before the country witnesses the operation of its first bullet train. Obviously, he was referring to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail (MAHSR) project, whose ground-breaking ceremonies were held when the then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe visited India in mid-September 2017. Indications are that it will first start in Gujarat in 2027 and later expand to Maharashtra. The PM's statement, however, must be seen in the context of the journey of modernisation of the Indian Railways symbolised by Vande Bharat trains, Amrit Bharat stations, and Namo Bharat Rail.

Upgrading the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat to high-speed status is already on the anvil with the railways' own Integral Coach Factory and state-run BEML collaborating to design and manufacture two prototype trainsets (of eight cars each) with a speed of 280 kmph. The first prototype will be developed in the next two years and will undergo extensive trials on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor.