India's first bullet train to run by 2022

India is planning to manufacture bullet trains locally under transfer of technology from a Japanese company.

According to a Railways presentation to a working group, which is monitoring the implementation of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project, Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh is suited for producing bullet train coaches.

Since the MCF has robotic production facility with a fully automated floor, it would be best suited to produce bullet trains, said an official from the Railways on condition of anonymity.

However, the working group, which comprises both Indian and Japanese representatives, will decide whether to give the building of the bullet train to MCF or set up another company under Public Private Partnership (PPP), the official said.

For Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Corridor, the first set of 18 ES series Shinkansen trains will come directly from Japan on the condition of transfer of technology. In the second phase of the project, bullet train parts will be imported from Japan and assembled locally. In the third phase, the government plans to produce the coaches locally under Make In India basis through the transfer of technology, said the official.

Totally 35 trains with 10 coaches each will run on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route and these trains would be able to run at a speed of 350 km an hour.

88,000 cr project

The Railways is hopeful of completing the acquisition of land by end of this year and start the construction early next year. However, the acquisition of land has been delayed following a protest by farmers. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal recently said that the government will hold talks with the protesters and pay good compensation.

As per the plan, the country's first bullet train is likely to hit the track by end of 2022.

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) is implementing the 508-km high-speed train corridor with Japanese assistance. The project already started getting funds from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is providing a soft loan of Rs 88,000 crore.