Inclusion redefined as Bullet!This Bullet to Hit India,Indian lifeline!Complete PPP Model.Complete FDI!Cheers!
India's high-speed rail plans hit by high costs and controversy
Palash Biswas
Dream of Bullet Train in India becomes expensive; required investment Rs 1 lakh crore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yjwWLaVFDc
Can India really get these bullet trains like in Japan and China?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VThqnB1zOeM
Latest reports and updates about trade oriented diplomacy,SELL India,Occupy the Globe with friendly corporate governance of Hindutya racist should boost the faith of the volatie forein capital and foreign interest if not the faith or the Vote Bank of Indian people all on the name of digital India,growth and development,inclusion redefined as Bullet!
Already it is privatization all the way. Ever thing has been handed over except driving the train and signals!Now,it is the Bullet which is all set to hit us!
Latest development would thrill you to see the PPP model taking over Indian life line and here it is!
With the aim of bringing transparency, all contracts in railways would be on e-tendering by the end of the year.
"The work is underway to revamp PPP cell within the Ministry of Railways with an objective to streamline processes to enhance transparency. All contracts would be based on E-tendering by end of the year," Railway Minister Suresh Prabhusaid at the PPP summit organised byConfederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday.
According to Railway Ministry, e-procurement process has already been started in the public transporter and all contracts would be materialised through e-tendering system soon.
Strongly pitching for private investment, he said, "There is no other alternative than to get private sector participation in the country. Balance needs to be achieved between profit and public interest objective." Referring to the
Madhepura and Marhora rail projects, Prabhu said "The largest FDI project worth Rs 40,000 crore is in the railway sector to set up diesel and electric locomotive factories. These state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities will create an eco-system with spin-off benefits, which will not only create jobs in the manufacturing facilities but will also help in developing ancillary units." Elaborating the scope of private investment in railways he said "There is a proposal to redevelop about 400 railways stations on PPP mode. It is in advance stage and are structured in most viable manner that would benefit all stakeholders."
According to railways plan, 400 stations will be redeveloped with private participation enhancing quality of passenger amenities at rail premises.
Referring to Dedicated Freight Corridor project, he said work on DFC project worth Rs 80,000 crore is being implemented at a satisfactory pace.
Prabhu also mentioned about the joint venture plan envisaged with various state governments to execute rail projects in the respective states.
Railways has signed projects worth Rs 3 lakh crore in JV with states, he said.
In the area of regulatory framework for rail sector, the Ministry would soon invite comments from stakeholders, he added.
Let us not be disappoineted as India has one of the largest rail
networks in the world, but as of 2015 it does not have any
line classed as high-speed rail (HSR)!
India's high-speed rail plans hit by high costs and controversy
The government is looking to build a 10,000km-long high-speed rail network, called the diamond quadrilateral, which connects four major cities, but the project has been slow going due to the high costs involved.
A top government panel looking after "innovative collaborations" is currently assessing a feasibility study conducted by the Japanese for a 505km bullet train corridor connecting the cities of Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The Chinese, meanwhile, were recently chosen to do a similar study for two other rail links, including a 1,200km Delhi to Mumbai stretch.
Officials have, however, dampened expectations that a high-speed rail network will be up and running soon, saying the project was "complex" and emphasising that no timeframe had been set for the project.
WRONG PRIORITY
Do we need to spend that amount of money to just cut journey hours from seven to three? There are lots of other things we need to do with the same kind of money and it will end up being more expensive than air travel.
MR ASHOK R. DATAR, transport expert and chairman of Mumbai Environmental Social Network, on why the high-speed rail's budget is better spent elsewhere
"It is a very complex process and a capital-intensive project. It will take time," said a railway spokesman.
The Indian railways network - Asia's second largest after China - remains a cheap source of transport, with 23 million people travelling every day on trains throughout the vast country.
The prices of tickets have been kept low to make them affordable even for the poor, but this has led to a lack of funds for the development or expansion of the network. This is in contrast to the boom in low-cost air travel.
For now, Japan - which recently lost out to China on a high-speed rail project in Indonesia - is seen to be ahead in India. Junior Railway Minister Manoj Sinha, in a written reply in Parliament, noted that Japan is the "only country to offer funding" .
Tokyo has offered a loan for 81 per cent of the cost for the Mumbai to Ahmedabad stretch which, according to the feasibility report by Japan International Cooperation Agreement, will cost 980 billion rupees (S$20.5 billion) over seven years.
The Japanese collaboration is expected to get a further boost when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe comes to India for a three-day visit starting Dec 11.
Analysts said Japan would be slightly concerned by China's involvement in India's bullet train plans.
"Japan would be a little bit concerned as China bagged the feasibility study (in September). They would have taken serious note. Infrastructure would be one of the important items between India and Japan. There is a competition and India can choose whoever gives the better deal," said Professor Lalima Verma, professor of Japanese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
But not everyone in India has welcomed the high-speed rail, with the critics arguing that it was more necessary to upgrade existing infrastructure and improve safety in the current network instead of opting for a big bang project.
"Do we need to spend that amount of money to just cut journey hours from seven to three? There are lots of other things we need to do with the same kind of money and it will end up being more expensive than air travel," said Mr Ashok R. Datar, transport expert and chairman of Mumbai Environmental Social Network.
The government is also looking at introducing semi-high-speed trains or trains that run at a top speed of 160kmh. Next year, an express train will start running between Delhi and Agra, where the Taj Mahal is situated, that will cut travel time by half an hour to 105 minutes.
Still, supporters insist Indians would eventually take to the bullet train.
"Before the Delhi metro came, everyone used to say it's too much money, and now every city wants a metro. With the bullet train too, one line will have a demonstrative effect," said Mr Sumant Chak, director of international relations at the Asian Institute of Transport Development and a former railway official.
New Delhi: Imagine, a journey between Mumbai and Ahmedabad which takes around seven hours, gets cut down to just two hours! This is not a figment of imagination, but may soon become a reality. With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to India from December 11-1, India and Japan have moved closer to inking an agreement on high speed train services, also called bullet train.
The bullet train project will be part of the high speed train corridor that is proposed between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, to be followed on the other routes.
The high speed bullet train is expected to run at more than 300 km per hour. The highest trains that currently runs in India is Gatiman Express betwen New Delhi and Agra, at the speed of 160 km per hour, and Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi that runs at 150 km per hour.
According The Economic Times report, PM Modi and PM Abe had agreed to collaborate on India's bullet train project during PM Modi's visit to Japan in 2014. Bullet trains was also a pre-poll promise by Modi.
A team from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has studied the feasibility of building the 505-kilometre corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad and has concluded that it would be technically and financially viable.
The repot added that given the scale and novelty of the project, the Japanese government is keen to discuss every detail to avoid any misinterpretation in future. Besides firming up costs, there are details on technology transfer, skilled labour, equipment manufacturing and maintenance that have to finalised. The aim is to ensure the project is operational by 2024.
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