Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Thursday launched the 508-km bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The project cost is estimated at Rs 1.10 lakh crore.
Modi thanked Abe for the “big gift from Japan to India” even as the Japanese PM attributed it to the “special bond” between the two nations.
Speaking at the jam-packed Sabarmati Railway Stadium, Abe hoped the first bullet train in India would soon make its route to other parts of the country. “The next time I am in India, I wish to ride the Shinkansen with Mr Modi and enjoy the beautiful scenery of India through the windows,” Abe said amid a huge applause.
“A strong India is in Japan’s interest and a strong Japan is in India’s interest,” Abe said after the two leaders pressed a button, unveiling a plaque.
He said the first letters of his country, Ja, and that of India, I, together make up the word “Jai” or victory. “Jai India, Jai Japan,” Abe, who started his speech with Namaskar and ended his with a ‘dhanyavad’, said. India’s first bullet train is being built with a Japanese soft loan of Rs 88,000 crore which India will pay back in the next 50 years at 0.1 per cent interest. However, Modi said this was not a loan, but a gift. “We are building India’s first bullet train practically free,” he said.
Modi called Abe his “close friend” and said the dreams and ambitions of this ‘new India’ are limitless. “India has taken a big leap today to fulfil a long-held dream. Fast trains, top technology will bring us top growth, employment and progress,” he said.
“Japan too has shown today what a great friend it is to India. India’s first bullet train project is a symbol of this friendship. Abe has ensured this project sticks to time,” said the PM. “This is not the time to progress at low speed. The speed of this country’s progress now depends on the high-speed connectivity,” Modi added.
The project will cut travel time between Ahmedabad and Mumbai from seven hours to less than three hours.
With Assembly elections due in Gujarat, Modi took the opportunity to highlight several rail and road projects his Government has initiated in the State. Modi also berated the Opposition for criticising the project.
“They first asked where’s the bullet train and now say why the bullet train,” he said. In 1964, Modi said, Japan started the bullet train and now this technology was in 15 countries. From Europe to China, the bullet train’s image can be seen everywhere. Not just economical but also societal changes have been brought about by these trains,” said Modi justifying his decision to bring the transportation marvel to India.
The target for its completion is December 2023, though officials say there are indications that the Government may seek an earlier deadline of 2022.
The train will stop at each of the 12 railway stations on the route, but only for 165 seconds. A 21-km-long tunnel will be dug between Boisar and BKC in Mumbai, of which 7 km will be under water.
The bullet train will have a capacity to accommodate 750 people.
The two Prime Ministers also laid the foundation for an institute that will come up in Vadodara where nearly 4,000 people will be skilled for the bullet train project.