Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor construction to start from 2018

Tokyo: Construction of the high-speed train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will start in 2018 and the train service will be operational from 2023, said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose country will be building the rail network.

At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Abe said the designing of the project will begin by the end of this year.

He said the ambitious project "symbolises a new dimension in the special relations" between the two countries.

Abe hoped that introduction of the rapid train network will spur further economic growth in India as he recalled that such a thing had happened in Japan when high speed rail system 'Shinkansen' was introduced in 1964.

Modi will be travelling by Shinkansen train, whose speed ranges from 240 kms per hour to 320 kms per hour, from Tokyo to Kobe tomorrow.

"Prime Minister Modi will see tomorrow for himself that it is the safest technology in the world," Abe said.

Modi said: "In terms of specific projects, we remain focused on making strong progress on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. Our engagement and agreement on cooperation in the financial sector will help us in accessing greater resources for infrastructure development."

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar later said that the two leaders would be performing ground-breaking ceremony for the project sometime next year.

In a joint statement, the two Prime Ministers welcomed

the steady progress to realise 3.5 trillion yen of public and private financing to India in five years under the "Japan-India Investment Promotion Partnership."

They also welcomed the progress in the projects at the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC).

They also confirmed the importance of securing appropriate implementation of ODA projects.

Prime Minister Modi appreciated the significant contribution of Japan's ODA in the development and modernisation of infrastructure in India.

In this regard, the two Prime Ministers welcomed progress in the ODA projects in urban transportation sector such as the Chennai and Ahmedabad Metro, the Mumbai Trans Harbor Link project, and the introduction of the Intelligence Transport System along the Eastern Peripheral Highway in Delhi.

Prime Minister Abe expressed Japan?s intention to support the upgrading of the ship-recycling yards of Alang, Bhavnagar District of Gujarat.