| Follow us on:
|
The groundwork for the joint train project signed in Tokyo and Kobe was set during Abe’s visit to India in December last year [Xinhua]
“My good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a far-sighted leader. He took a decision two years ago to bring high-speed train in India and to create a new India,” Abe said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made good on his promise to bring this high-technology transportation.
In November last year, Modi (and Abe) visited the Kawasaki plant in Japan where the train is being manufactured.
He also took a ride aboard the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to the port city of Kobe.
With speeds reaching 320 kms, the $17-billion bullet train (which is largely funded by a Japanese loan) is expected to greatly enhance rail transportation in India. However, it will not go into operation until 2023.
When it does, it will cut the Ahmedabad-Mumbai trip duration from eight to three hours.
India is trying to upgrade its ailing train transportation infrastructure which has been fraught with deadly derailments and other accidents.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
