Railways to introduce 350 kmph bullet trains by 2020
01 Jan 2010
Indian Railways' `Vision 2020' document envisages the implementation of at least four high-speed rail projects to provide bullet train services at 250-350 kilometre per hour (kmph) by 2020, in addition to a massive expansion and reform of its route network, the ministry said in a press release,
The white paper, presented in the parliament by the railway minister Mamta Banerjee, aims at segregation of passenger and freight services into separate double-line corridors, raising the speeds of passenger trains from the current 130 kmph to 160-200 kmph on some routes, as also elimination of accidents and equipment failures.
On Thursday, visiting Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama also made a strong pitch for introducing bullet trains in India saying that this would benefit both sides.
He discussed the prospect of such a plan at length during his meeting with prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday
"Since its inception (in Japan), there has been no accidents. We would like to see this technology being used in India," Hatoyama said after his meeting with Singh.
Former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said early this year that the ministry was in the process of appointing global consultants for introducing the high-speed trains on certain routes.