Modi, Abe Partnership Gets India Its First Bullet Train

The bullet train once functional will cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in two hours.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Modi at the launch of the high-speed railway project.

(Photo: PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart laid the foundation stone for India’s first ever bullet train that will run from Ahmedabad to Mumbai.

In a move to revolutionise the Indian Railways, the bullet train once functional will reduce the distance from Ahmedabad to Mumbai to approximately two hours and the travelling costs for the same are expected to be around Rs 2500 to 5000.

According to PM Modi, the deal which was finalised at Rs 88,000 crore at 0.1% interest for 50 years was a result of Japan’s keen interest in India’s technological development and strong friendship with India.

“A strong India is in Japan's interest and a strong Japan is in India’s interest," said Shinzo Abe responding to PM Modi.

The bullet train would run at an average speed of 320 km per hour and at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour. With 12 railway stations on the route, the train will stop at each station for 165 seconds. A 21-km-long tunnel will be dug between Boisar and BKC in Mumbai, of which seven km will be under water.

Congratulating the people of India, Abe said that he would hope to see the beautiful scenery of India through the windows of the bullet rains, when he returns in a few years.

Talking about his age old dream, Modi talked about the opposition too, "When earlier I talked about bullet train, they (opposition) used to say it was big talk, and now when it has come they are saying what is the need for it.”

The Rs 1.10 lakh crore train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is expected to be completed by the year 2022.

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta

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