Bullet Train and Hyperloop: Pillars of Modern Transportation System for ‘New India’

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan laid the foundation of bullet train project in India between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. A step that will help New India in embracing technology with open arms.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious project of introducing bullet train in India is now a reality. On Thursday, Prime Ministers of India and Japan inaugurated the project which is expected to be completed by August 15, 2022. The train will cover a total distance of 508 Km between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. There will be two types of trains. One will be high speed train that will take 2.58 hours to cover the whole distance. The other will be rapid high speed train that will take 2.08 hours to cover the whole distance. The train will have the speed of 320-350 Kmph and will cost around 3000-5000 per person for one side.

 

Towards next gen infrastructure…foundation stone for India’s first high speed rail laid by PMs @AbeShinzo and @narendramodi. pic.twitter.com/YbQXSakJaZ

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 14, 2017

The train will accommodate 750 people at a time and will carry 1.6 crore people annually. There will be total 12 stations covered including Surat, Vadodara, Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, Thane and Mumbai. The total cost of the project will be around rupees 110, 000 crore in which 88, 000 crore rupees will be taken as loan from Japan at an interest of 0.1% for 50 years. The project is set to create 5000 direct employments.

Future Projects and Technological Embracement in India:

It is also reported that second bullet train project would be ready by 2024 between Amritsar and New Delhi. Apart from Bullet Train Projects, India is keen to embrace Hyperloop Technology. The Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a MoU with US based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies for building a Hyperloop transportation system between State Capital Amravati and Vijayawada. The feasibility study under this project will start next month. This will cover 35 km distance in just 5 minutes with an average speed of 420 kmph. If everything goes fine, the project will be ready by 2021. Hyperloop technology costs quite less than bullet train and is faster and efficient. Other states are also mulling to introduce such superior technologies.

Integrated Land and River Transport Network

Maruti Suzuki has planned to ship its car through waterways in order to save cost of transportation. A MoU has been signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India and Maruti Suzuki to facilitate the transportation. This will reduce the cost to half costing 50 paise per kilometer.

With three such initiatives for transport, India is heading towards a paradigm shift that will change the lifestyle of people. Bullet Trains and Hyperloops will increase the productivity and reduce the time while waterways shipments will reduce the load on road and railways. If the transportation becomes easier, the productivity of this country will grow faster.