Since the time Narendra Modi became the PM of our country, he has made sure that the country progresses in every field. The most recent project that he has come up with is the Bullet Train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.  Recently, he welcomed the Japanese PM Mr. Shinzo Abe for their fourth Indo- Japan summit since Modi Government took hold of office in 2014. Narendra Modi and Japan’s Shinzo Abe signed 15 pacts during the India-Japan Annual Summit. One of momentous achievement of the summit was the inauguration of Bullet train.

But what is this Bullet train all about? Let’s have a look!

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1. Historically, railways have played a vital role in the country’s economy, society, and politics. The much talked about bullet train, is going to have the same effect on our country if executed with adequate planning.

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2. The 508-kilometre project of the bullet train is just one more step towards building a stronger alliance with our country.

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3. The project is going to be financed by a Japanese credit of US$ 17 billion payable in 50 years and carrying a nominal interest rate of 0.1%.

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4. It is going to have elevated corridor of 405 km, 21 km of under-water line plus 5 km of tunnels.

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5.The fares are proposed to be 1.5 times of the first class AC tickets of currently running Mumbai Ahmedabad Duronto Express, which lead to approximately Rs3000/-.

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6.Trains are to be made in 2 classes: business class and standard class sections with 2×2 and 2×3 seating configuration respectively.

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7. The line will have 12 stations. Proposed stations are Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand and Ahmedabad, Sabarmati.

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8. The stations to be built for the bullet train are planned in a way that they are located near the existing stations of the Indian Railway Network, to facilitate easier interaction of the same.

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9. This high-speed train is expected to be operational between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in August 2022 advancing the scheduled launch from March 2023.

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10. Living up to its name the ‘bullet’ train is expected to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad from the current seven hours to two hours, to expanded jobs and socializing opportunities.

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11. The bullet train will be effective in reducing congestion on the road and hence the reduction of fuel consumption.

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12. Based on Modiji’s philosophy of ‘Make in India”, the trains are planned to be manufactured in India, of course with the assistance of Japanese technology.

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13. The NHSRC (National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited) is the company specifically created for the implementation of the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail project.

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14. In September 2015, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requested railway authorities to incorporate Nashik as well, which was denied on the grounds that the additional stations would increase the project costs exponentially.

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15. The project was actually initiated by then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Sing on 29 May 2013 and was decided that the project would be co-financed for a joint feasibility study of the route.

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16. The joint statement said Japan’s first loan of $1 billion is to be utilized for the first four Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIMs) in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in 2017.

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17. A dozen more such bullet trains projects are proposed between metropolises such as Delhi, Jaipur, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Lucknow and the like. Similar clusters in the south, east, and west is also in the pipeline.

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18. Eventually across the country the golden quadrilateral: Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata – each connected to the other, directly.

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19. The bullet train project promises to expose India to state-of-the-art technology in materials.

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 20. With careful planning, it may help create an entirely new ecosystem of high performance in the country.

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We may not be a perfect nation, but we are progressing. There are movements within the country and creating a stronger image in the world politics. However, we still have a long way to go, and such partnership has always been a milestone in the history of world politics.