Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe would perform the customary bhoomi pujan at Sabarmati in Gujarat for India’s ambitious bullet train project on Thursday.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday announced that Railways will be transformed and revolutionised on the day Modi and Abe would lay the foundation stone for the over `one lakh crore project funded by the Japanese Government.
“The coming of bullet trains to India will not only boost employment but in future India will be able to export it too,” said Goyal announcing the formal commencement of the work project for the Ahemdabad-Mumbai high speed corridor.
The ground breaking ceremony or bhoomi-pujan will be performed on September 14 by Modi and Abe near Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati railway station. Modi and Abe are expected to stay in the city for three days, starting from September 13.
“Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and our PM would arrive in Gujarat on September 13 afternoon. The next morning, they would attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the high-speed rail project at the Sabarmati railway station. Both of them are expected to leave on September 15 morning,” said a close aide of Goyal.
Goyal, who took over as Railway Minister from Suresh Prabhu last week, added that the PM has given directions for a holistic development of the Indian Railways. Goyal said that the country’s transport sector is all set to change and it is indeed a matter of celebration.
While former Railway Minister lalu Yadav was first to talk about a Bullet Train in India almost a decade ago, it was however expedited during the tenure of Prabhu who has hence been shifted to Commerce Ministry. Prabhu had also held meetings with Japanese experts on many occasions and was successful in seeking a soft loan of mere 0.1 per cent from Japan.