Modi, Abe to kick-start India’s first bullet train project

AHMEDABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will break ground on India's first bullet train project on Thursday in western Gujarat state, as the country seeks faster travel for millions, reports AFP.

Modi has pledged to invest billions of dollars to modernise India's creaking railway system, with the bullet train one of his key election promises ahead of his landslide victory in 2014. The leaders will lay the foundation stone of the high-speed rail network between Ahmedabad -- the capital city of Modi's home state -- and India's financial hub of Mumbai on September 14, a statement by the Gujarat government said Saturday.

Japan is a pioneer in high-speed rail networks, and its Shinkansen bullet train is among the fastest in the world.

Japan will provide 85 percent of the total project cost of $19 billion in soft loans. The train will reduce the travel time between the two cities from eight to three-3.5 hours, and is expected to complete by December 2023. It will have a capacity of 750 passengers. India's traditional railway network is the world's fourth largest by distance and remains the vast country's main form of travel, with 22 million passengers commuting daily.

 But passengers have to often endure chronic delays in journeys on the British-era network, where only a few trains hit 100 miles per hour, and which has been hit by series of deadly crashes in past years.

Modi, Abe to kick-start Indias first bullet train project

AHMEDABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will break ground on Indias first bullet train project on Thursday in western Gujarat state, as the country seeks faster travel for millions, reports AFP. Modi has pledged to invest billions of dollars to modernise Indias creaking railway system, with the bullet train one of his key election promises ahead of his landslide victory in 2014. The leaders will lay the foundation stone of the high-speed rail network between Ahmedabad -- the capital city of Modis home state -- and Indias financial hub of Mumbai on September 14, a statement by the Gujarat government said Saturday. Japan is a pioneer in high-speed rail networks, and its Shinkansen bullet train is among the fastest in the world. Japan will provide 85 percent of the total project cost of $19 billion in soft loans. The train will reduce the travel time between the two cities from eight to three-3.5 hours, and is expected to complete by December 2023. It will have a capacity of 750 passengers. Indias traditional railway network is the worlds fourth largest by distance and remains the vast countrys main form of travel, with 22 million passengers commuting daily. But passengers have to often endure chronic delays in journeys on the British-era network, where only a few trains hit 100 miles per hour, and which has been hit by series of deadly crashes in past years.