What is the issue?
Bullet trains are expected to transform rail travel and boost the economy.
What is the status of HSR in India?
- High speed rail or HSR, which basically means trains running on dedicated lines at 250 km/h or highest.
- India’s pioneering 500-km ‘bullet’ train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
- It is being executed in collaboration with Gujarat and Maharashtra,
- Japan’s offer of the $12 billion assistance at highly concessional terms is not transferable to other rail projects.
What are the issues with Indian railway system?
- The Railways had not segregated its passenger business from freight, for better focus and orientation.
- There is lack of planning on upgrading the resources for ‘semi high speed’ inter-city trains.
- They also have multiple stops and consume a substantial portion of scarce movement capacity, including on high density routes.
- The Railways had not restructured its services and tariffs to be able to reposition rail travel in preference to car as well as airlines.
- Its annual loss currently estimated at Rs.30,000 crore from the passenger business is untenable.
- Suburban passenger traffic the ordinary second class fare is responsible for losses.
What are the advantages of HSR?
- Climate Change - A high-speed electric train emits an eight and a fifth of carbon dioxide as against automobiles and airplanes per passenger km, respectively.
- Efficient land usage - A double-track rail line has more than thrice the passenger carrying capacity of a six-lane highway while requiring less than half the land.
- Faster connectivity - HSR helps bring settlements 500 km apart within two hours of each other.
- Affordable - Designed to be faster than a car, while also cheaper and more convenient than a plane.
- Economic growth - It stimulus for the development of satellite towns, helping alleviate migration to metropolises.
- Safety - HSR’s unblemished safety record is an important benefit, ever since its inception in 1964 has maintained a unique record of no fatal accident.
What are the things to be taken care?
- The Railways must ensure the Ahmedabad-Mumbai HSR project is commissioned within stipulated time and cost.
- It needs to keep the other six designated HSR corridors on radar, feasibility studies for which have already been completed.
- The Railways for 350 km/h trains corridors on arterial routes along the golden quadrilateral and its diagonals are also required.
Source: Business Line
