First ever Bullet train in India?? Yes, Japan is going to join a hand with India by providing USD 15 billion at an interest rate of less than 1% to build bullet trains. Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505-kilometre corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmadabad, the commercial capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, and concluded it would be technically and financially viable. Last month China won the contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed train between Delhi and Mumbai, a 1,200-km route estimated to cost twice as much. No loan has yet been offered.

Japan’s decision to give virtually free finance is part of its broader push back against China’s involvement in infrastructure development in South Asia over the past several years.

The two projects are part of a ‘Diamond Quadrilateral’ of high speed trains over 10,000 km of track that India wants to set up connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Japan has offered to meet 80 percent of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project cost, on condition that India buys 30 percent of equipment including the coaches and locomotives from Japanese firms. Japan’s International Cooperation Agency, which led the feasibility survey, said the journey time between Mumbai and Ahmadabad would be cut to two hours from seven. The route will require 11 new tunnels including one undersea near Mumbai. The average speed of trains is 54 km/hour.

Things to know…

• The super fast trains in Japan are called the Shinkansen.
• Shinkansen literally means “new trunk line.”
• The term “bullet train,” which is widely used in the West, is derived from the rounded front of the original Shinkansen.
• Shinkensen trains go as fast as 170 miles per hour.
• The Shinkansen is famous for reliability, safety and punctuality.

Try it!!

The Navies of India, United States and Japan conducted a five-day _________________ exercise on the Eastern coast, in which several warships, aircraft carriers and fast attack submarine participated.