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Hideki Makihara, former justice minister and a leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party
Hours after a former Japanese minister alleged on social media that India had displayed “sheer recklessness” in its bullet train project that stalled its progress, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the claim as a “personal opinion…at variance with facts” and said discussions between both countries were progressing well.
Taking to X on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, Hideki Makihara, former justice minister and a leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, wrote: “The Shinkansen project in India is something I was involved with myself, but what stood out in international meetings and negotiations was the sheer recklessness of the Indian side, repeated over and over. They just don’t keep promises, no matter what. Even if they make a promise, they flip it right away. They keep pushing their own self-interest right up to the very end.”
The Japanese politician also alleged that the recent visit to India by Japan Prime minister Sanae Takaichi was a failure. “I feel 100% that the reason this has not moved forward is entirely on the Indian side. No result from Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit either — ‘India Shinkansen’ failure: Japan excluded from the signal system, the key to safety,” he posted.
Responding to the allegations, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “It is an individual opinion and at considerable variance with facts. India-Japan discussions on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed train are in fact progressing well. Japan will provide E10 series trains, but only in the early 2030s.The train in question is still under development. Meanwhile, construction work has rapidly progressed. The first section will be opened in 2027 itself. Therefore, both sides agreed to start the operations with Indian high speed trains.”
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project (Image: NHSRCL)
Jaiswal said signalling equipment has been ordered accordingly and is in line with international specifications. “No Japanese offer was received in this context. The project execution is in line with the common goal of starting the high speed train project at the earliest,” he said.
The Indian Railways has announced that the first 50-km section (Surat-Bilimora) of the 508-km project will be made operational with an India-made bullet train set (B28). The design speed of the train is 280 kmph and two sets are currently being developed by BEML in Bengaluru.
Besides, India is currently deploying the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2-based signalling in the Surat-Bilimora section, which is scheduled to be made operational by August 2027.
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Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project (Image: NHSRCL)
In March, a report tabled in Parliament by the Standing Committee on Railways had pointed to “challenges” faced in procuring rolling stock from Japan for the project.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project (Image: NHSRCL)
A Rail Ministry representative is quoted as saying in the report: “You will be happy to know that we are making B28 in India. In the first stage, it will run at 250 kmph. After that we will develop it for 350 or 320 kmph… We have to run the first commercial service in Surat in August 2027… The signalling system related to this will be ETCS Level 2, which will operate at 250 and 280 kmph. Its tender has already been awarded and we are installing it. (The) Japan one will come, but right now we are doing our own work.”
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