India is getting its first bullet train, which will link up Mumbai with Ahmedabad and include a stint below sea level.
The trip between the two cities will take two hours using the new train, with a maximum speed of 350kmh. Currently, the country’s Duronto Express links the two financial cities in around seven hours.
The 508 km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor will have a 21 km long tunnel under the sea as mentioned by a senior Railway Ministry official.
Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore, 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come by way of a loan from Japan. The project cost includes possible cost escalation, interest during construction and import duties. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India and committed to 12 billion dollars of soft loans to build the high-speed train. The interest rate is just 0.1 percent rate with repayment over 50 years and a moratorium for 15 years. as per the loan agreement, the rolling stock and other equipment like signalling and power system will be imported from Japan.
The loan agreement with Japan is likely to be signed by the end of the year and construction work is likely to begin by the end of 2018. The biggest challenge will probably start after that when the new bullet train will have to take 100 trips per day in order to make the project financially viable!
The image is a fictional depiction.
