Bullet Trains of India

India has one of the largest rail network in the world. There are several Express and Superfast Express trains too with maximum speeds touching 160-170kms./hour, but there are no Bullet trains yet with average speeds  250-300 kms /hour like there are in Japan or China.

There are however plans in the offing to bring “Bullet Trains” to India.

However, even before the introduction of these absolutely new Bullet trains, Indian Railways is trying to improve on existing train speeds and turning them to Superfast as per internationally accepted norms; speeds between 160-200kms. /hour.

Improvements Required

• Incremental improvement on existing lines up to 200 kms / hour with plans for  higher speeds upto 250kms./hour on dedicated tracks.
• Dedicated tracks for passenger trains with separate tracks for suburban trains in Metros.
• Upgrade dedicated passenger tracks with heavier rails, which should be inspected and maintained regularly to ensure confidence of safety.
• Dedicated corridors for freight trains with upgraded tracks for 160- 200 kms. /hour
• Upgrade locomotives and coaches to support the high speeds.

The Railway Ministry white paper Vision 2020 submitted to the Parliament projects the plans of enhancements, improvements and expansions for the decade 2011- 2020.  These include the implementation of regional high-speed rail projects to provide services at 250-350 km/h, and planning for corridors connecting commercial, tourist and pilgrimage hubs.

High Speed Corridors for Bullet Trains

Six corridors have been identified and on some of these feasibility studies have already been conducted on setting up of high-speed rail corridors:

• Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar
• Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad
• Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijayawada-Chennai
• Howrah-Haldia
• Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Kochi
• Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna
• Two more routes were added to the proposal 
• Ahmedabad-Dwarka, via Rajkot, Jamnagar
• Rajkot -Veraval via Junagadh

It is proposed that these high-speed rail corridors will be elevated so as to cause minimum disruption to  the pattern of habitation and the constraint of land.   The elevated corridors will prevent trespassing of animals and people. These tracks are completely fenced and have no road crossing at the same level.

The Amritsar- Delhi and the Mumbai- Ahmedabad line are being considered for the pioneering development.

Costs

RDSO and JICA had JICA conducted a feasibility study in 1987 when the cost per km for this project was estimated to Rs 49 million. With inflation at almost 10% in 2010  the 1987-estimated cost was approximately Rs 439 million per km. The current studies are being conducted by RITES.