Japan railways official shares bullet trains' insights

The President of Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), the research and development wing of Japanese Railways, Dr. Norimichi Kumagai said that “safety should be the top priority of all railway systems. Carefully observe what is happening in railway fields, do bench test and integrate it with simulation. The railway is a sophisticated system, but still, many technical challenges remain to be addressed. Railway research should contribute to the creation of a happier society based on a strong mind for customer orientation.”

Kumagai said this while addressing a seminar organised at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, on Tuesday on the country's first high-speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Explaining the development of railways in his country, Kumagai said that Shinkansen bullet train technology brought "significant changes in the Japanese economy and social life."

He explained about safety measures adopted in Shinkansen such as early detection or warning of earthquake and vehicle behavior prediction to prevent derailment.

On the occasion Achal Khare, Managing Director, National High-Speed Rail Corporation, the implementing agency, said that the "Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project is aimed at "saving travel time, facilitating comfort, reducing conventional traffic among others between the two cities."

He added, “We are looking to find innovative ways to recycle/reuse construction waste generated from the project. The project will also undertake tree transplantation to minimise environmental impact, and rainwater harvesting will be used extensively in the project.”

The proposed bullet train will run nearly 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad at a top speed of 320 kmph which is expected to start running by 2022. However, the project is said to be suffering the biggest hurdles in acquiring land from the farmers and others. Farmers and people being affected by the project have moved Gujarat high court. In February, the court concluded the hearing on these petitions and judgement is awaited.

Farmers have challenged the land acquisition on several grounds including process initiated by the state government for acquiring land is illegal as it did not conduct any social impact assessment as required by the Central land acquisition law of 2013. They have also contended that the appropriate authority for acquiring land for the project was Central government and not the state government as the project covers more than one state.