M A I N   N E W S

Japan keen to sell bullet train knowhow to India
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, May 27
Covering a distance of 1400 km between Delhi and Mumbai in eight hours by train could well become a reality if India were to adopt Japan’s high-speed rail technology or ‘Shinkansen’, Tokyo has claimed. It will strongly pitch for exporting ‘Shinkansen’ to India during talks between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is now on a visit to Tokyo for the annual India-Japan Summit.

Confirming that the project was under New Delhi’s active consideration, Manmohan Singh told Japanese journalists last week that the Indian Railways has looked into the possibility of High Speed Rail (HSR) corridors for passenger traffic in their long term perspective plans.

“Japan’s ‘Shinkansen’ system is well known for its efficiency and safety record. Such capital-intensive projects will be considered in accordance with our infrastructure requirement, national priorities and financial resources,” he said.

Diplomatic sources here said Japan proposed to launch a major marketing drive to sell the technology to India. Exporting Japanese infrastructure is said to be one of the main targets of the Abe Government.

‘Shinkansen’ train goes as fast as 170 miles per hour. It is known worldwide for reliability, safety and punctuality. Since it was inaugurated in 1964, the ‘Shinkansen’ has had a remarkable record of high-speed operation, safety, volume of transport and punctuality.

India has been considering importing the bullet train technology from Japan for quite some time. New Delhi has drawn up a blueprint to build a high-speed rail system to cope with expanding demand for intercity travel amid a fast-growing economy. The Railways Ministry has unveiled plans to build six high-speed lines to link major industrial and population hubs in the country.

The Japanese have already undertaken a feasibility study regarding bullet train projects on the Delhi, Agra, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad routes.

China has also shown interest in exporting its high-speed train technology to India. The issue had come up during the India-China strategic economic dialogue held in New Delhi last year.

Known for reliability, safety

• The ‘Shinkansen’ train runs as fast as 170 miles per hour
• It is known worldwide for reliability, safety and punctuality
• ‘Shinkansen’ has had a remarkable record of high-speed operation, safety, volume of transport and punctuality
• India has been considering importing the bullet train technology from Japan for quite some time