India rejects ex-Japanese minister’s ‘delay’ Mumbai-Ahmedabad train allegations: ‘Significant discrepancy with facts’ | Today’s news
India has denigrated comments by a former Japanese minister blaming New Delhi for delaying the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed bullet train project, calling it an “individual opinion” at “significant variance with the facts”.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also stated this. discussions about the high-end project continue well.
Read also | Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train: Surat-Bilimora section to start operations in 2027
“We have seen the post. It is an individual opinion and quite inconsistent with the facts. India-Japan discussions on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train are going well,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to a query on Friday, July 17.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is a high-speed rail initiative in India that is 508 kilometers long. It aims to connect Mumbai to Ahmedabad using Japanese Shinkansen technology and funded largely by Japan.
India dismissed the remarks as an individual opinion that diverged significantly from the facts and stressed that the discussions and progress of the project with Japan were progressing positively.
The project is funded primarily by Japan, which has agreed to provide 81% of the funding, with a total estimated cost of approximately 976.3 billion rupees ($10.1 billion).
The first section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is expected to be inaugurated in 2027, according to Indian officials on the progress of the project.
Yes, while the bullet train reached a maximum speed of 120 km/h during trials, its operating speed in normal operation is planned to be 75 km/h.
What did the Japanese leader say?
Jaiswal’s response came over comments by Hideki Makihara, Japan’s former justice minister and member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who blamed India for delays in the Indo-Japan Shinkansen project.
“The Shinkansen project in India is something I’ve been on my own, but what stood out in the international meetings and negotiations was the complete recklessness of the Indian side, repeated over and over again. They just don’t keep their promises no matter what. Even if they promise something, they immediately back it up,” Makihara wrote on X.
Makihara also accused the minister in charge of being “horrible”. “They constantly push their own interests to the very end. The minister in charge was particularly terrible – if he’s a top guy like that, there’s no way to have decent dealings. To the credit of all the Japanese people who poured their hearts into this, I have to say: I feel 100% that the cause has not moved forward,” he adds entirely on the Indian side.
what is the project
The 508-kilometer (315.66-mile) high-speed railway in western India, which links the national financial center of Mumbai to Ahmedabad in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, is facing delays due to slow land acquisition. When India and Japan signed the 2015 agreement, the project was to be completed in seven years at an estimated cost of 976.3 billion rupees ($10.1 billion). Japan has agreed to provide 81% of the financing and is using its Shinkansen technology.
Sharing details about the progress of the project, Jaiswal said that India-Japan discussions on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train were progressing well. “Japan will provide the E10 series train in the early 2030s. The train is still under development,” Jaiswal said.
Read also | Ashwini Vaishnaw shares the timeline of India’s first bullet train
Meanwhile, according to the MEA, construction work has progressed rapidly. “The first section will be opened in 2027. Therefore, both parties have agreed to start operations with the Indian high-speed train. The signaling equipment has been ordered and is in accordance with international specifications. No Japanese bid has been received in this regard. The implementation of the project is in line with the common goal of starting the high-speed train project as soon as possible,” Jaiswal said.
Last week Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the first bullet train is now under construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. He said the first part of the bullet train will be launched next year
“Next year, we will launch the first section of the bullet train in Mumbai-Ahmedabad section between Surat and Bilimore. Then, section by section, right after that we will go from Vapi to Surat, then we will go from Vapi to Ahmedabad, then Ahmedabad to Thane, then Ahmedabad to Mumbai,” the minister said.
It is an individual opinion and differs greatly from the facts.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was in India earlier this month on a three-day trip to deepen economic ties and strengthen security cooperation as the two nations seek to balance relations with the US and China.
