Bullet Speed, Skill & Scale: Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Train Corridor to be built by 2022, providing a faster & comfortable commute sooner
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways
25-September-2017 11:40 IST
Railway Protection Force to implement its Child Rescue Campaign in 47 additional Railway Stations taking total to 82 Railway Stations
The campaign is presently successfully implemented in 35 existing Railway Stations.
RPF rescued around 21,000 children in last three years.
RPF conferred with the service of excellence award by the Ministry of Home Affairs for its successful efforts in Child rescue drive.
Encouraged with the success of campaign launched by Railway Protection Force (RPF) to rescue distressed children, Ministry of Railways has now decided to implement this campaign in 47 additional Railway stations in addition to existing 35 stations. With these additional stations, the RPF campaign to rescue children will be implemented from 82 Railways stations. In this way, all A1 Category stations numbering 75 will be covered under this campaign.
‘Operation Muskaan’, is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to rescue/rehabilitate missing children. It is a dedicated campaign where several activities are taken up by Police organizations to trace and rescue missing children and reunite them with their families. The Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force are required to take preventive measures and also take action in case children in need of care and protection are found in trains and Railway Premises.
During the years 2014, 2015 & 2016, Railway Protection Force personnel have been able to rescue 20,931 children including 1,317trafficked children (944 Boys & 373 Girls) over Indian Railways. In the current year 2017, upto August, 7,126 children have been rescued by RPF including 185 trafficked children (124 Boys & 61 Girls).
The Railway Protection Force rescue 20-25 such children daily from trains and Railway premises and hand them over to the safe and secure hands of their parents, relatives, NGOs, Child Welfare Committees or other legal rehabilitation institutions established by Law and thereby bring smile on the faces of thousands of aggrieved parents/relatives of missing children every year.
As a result of tireless, vigilant and prompt action with compassion and humane touch, RPF has been conferred with the ‘Service of Excellence Award’ by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the efforts in rescue of missing children under operation “MUSKAN’’ drive.
Special Kiosks/Child Help Desks are set up at the designated stations which are manned round the clock by RPF staff and the staff of Childline/NGO nominated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. This entire exercise is being undertaken as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Railways to ensure care and protection of children in contact with Railways jointly developed by Ministry of Railways , National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Background:
A large number of run-aways, unaccompanied and trafficked children travel to different parts of the country. The Railways carry significantly large proportion of such children and many use railway premises for shelter and livelihood. These children are highly vulnerable to all forms of abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation.
With the aim to prevent the plight of millions of children, who lose their way and get separated from their parents in Railway network, Railway Protection Force is dedicated to prevent trafficking of children and take appropriate action to rehabilitate destitute children found in Railway areas
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=171073
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will flag off Third Mahamana Express on 22nd September, 2017 to run between Varanasi and Vadodara through video conferencing from Varanasi. On this occasion, Minister of Railways, Shri Piyush Goyal, Dy. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Nitinbhai Patel will be present at Vadodara station, while Shri Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways & Minister of Communications (Independent Charge) Govt. of India, will be present at Surat Railway station.
The train, in its inaugural service, will run as special train with the Train No. 09103 Vadodara – Varanasi Special and will depart from Vadodara on Friday, 22nd September, 2017 and reach Varanasi on Saturday, 23rd September, 2017.
Similarly, in return direction, the special trip with Train No. 09104 Varanasi – Vadodara Special will depart from Varanasi at 22.00 hrs on Saturday, 23rd September, 2017 and will reach Vadodara at 01.50 hrs on Monday, 25th September, 2017.
After the inaugural trip, a regular service from 27th September, 2017 onwards, Train No. 20903 Vadodara – Varanasi Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express will depart from Vadodara on every Wednesday at 19.40 hrs and will reach Varanasi at 22.20 hrs the next day. Similarly, in return direction w.e.f 29th September, 2017 onwards, Train No. 20904 Varanasi – Vadodara Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express will depart from Varanasi on every Friday at 06.10 hrs and will reach Vadodara at 09.40 hrs the next day. The train will halt at Bharuch, Surat, Amalner, Bhusaval, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna and Chheoki stations in both directions. The train will have I AC, II tier AC, Sleeper Class and II Class General Coaches.
The booking for the “inaugural run” of Train no. 09103 Vadodara – Varanasi Special train is already open with “immediate effect.”
For “regular run” of Train No. 20903 Vadodara – Varanasi Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express, the booking will open from “22nd September, 2017”.
Two Mahamana Express are already in service namely 22163/22164 Bhopal – Khajuraho Mahamana Express and 22417/22418 Varanasi New Delhi Mahamana Express.
SALIENT FEATURES OF MAHAMANA EXPRESS
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/mbErel.aspx?relid=171001
India is poised to emerge as an economic superpower, driven in part by its young population, while China and the Asian Tigers age rapidly, according to Deloitte LLP.
The number of people aged 65 and over in Asia will climb from 365 million today to more than half a billion in 2027, accounting for 60 percent of that age group globally by 2030, Deloitte said in a report Monday. In contrast, India will drive the third great wave of Asia’s growth – following Japan and China — with a potential workforce set to climb from 885 million to 1.08 billion people in the next 20 years and hold above that for half a century.
“India will account for more than half of the increase in Asia’s workforce in the coming decade, but this isn’t just a story of more workers: these new workers will be much better trained and educated than the existing Indian workforce,’’ said Anis Chakravarty, economist at Deloitte India. “There will be rising economic potential coming alongside that, thanks to an increased share of women in the workforce, as well as an increased ability and interest in working for longer. The consequences for businesses are huge.’’
While the looming ‘Indian summer’ will last decades, it isn’t the only Asian economy set to surge. Indonesia and the Philippines also have relatively young populations, suggesting they’ll experience similar growth, says Deloitte. But the rise of India isn’t set in stone: if the right frameworks are not in place to sustain and promote growth, the burgeoning population could be faced with unemployment and become ripe for social unrest.
Deloitte names the countries that face the biggest challenges from the impact of ageing on growth as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. For Australia, the report says the impact will likely outstrip that of Japan, which has already been through decades of the challenges of getting older. But there are some advantages Down Under.
Rare among rich nations, Australia has a track record of welcoming migrants to our shores,” said Ian Thatcher, deputy managing partner at Deloitte Asia Pacific. “That leaves us less at risk of an ageing-related slowdown in the decades ahead.’’
Japan’s experience shows there are opportunities from ageing, too. Demand has risen in sectors such as nursing, consumer goods for the elderly, age-appropriate housing and social infrastructure, as well as asset management and insurance.
But Asia will need to adjust to cope with a forecast 1 billion people aged 65 and over by 2050. This will require:
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-17/superpower-india-to-replace-china-as-growth-engine
Coal consumers are expected to be benefitted by Rs 6,000 crore annual savings with reduction in tax rates after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), an official said on Thursday.
In the pre-GST regime, there was excise duty on coal at the rate of six per cent, stowing excise duty at Rs 10 per tonne of coal production, value added tax at five per cent (on intra-state sale), and central sales tax at two per cent (on inter-state sale). Post-implementation of GST, all these taxes and levies have been subsumed and GST of five per cent is being charged from consumers.
“We have estimated that on an average the reduction in rate on local sales is about five per cent and on the inter-state sales the rate of reduction in taxes is about three per cent. This (the reduction of tax rates) will give an advantage to the customers to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore (annually),” a Coal India official said.
He said the miner is facing an inverted tax structure in GST regime as its output is taxed at a lower rate while its inputs are taxed on higher rates.
“Coal has been made taxable at five per cent in the GST regime while taxes are ranging between 18-28 per cent on our inputs. Our output is taxed at five per cent while our inputs are taxed at higher rates. This is a kind of an inverted tax structure and, going forward, this will lead to refund situation.”
The official also said that demonetisation did not have much of impact on the miner as most of the payments were made through online banking system.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/post-gst-coal-consumers-to-benefit-with-rs-6000-crore-savings-in-taxes/articleshow/60515604.cms
Since they were commissioned more than five decades ago, bullet trains have been the symbol of Japan’s engineering prowess. This ambitious project demonstrated Japan’s significant engineering skill and expertise, and its success transformed the way Japan was viewed by the rest of the world. Similarly, China has focussed on the development of its high-speed rail network as a symbol of its engineering capabilities.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe will arrive in Gujarat later this week to lay the foundation stone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project — also known as the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train. There is an expectation that similar to the experience for Japan and China, this project could be one of the catalysts in transforming India. India has already experienced success in major projects in the past, which includes building the Golden Quadrilateral and upgrading its national highways, which has added to GDP, created efficiencies in transportation, provided jobs and improved rural development through enhanced connectivity.
This discussion is timely, given the challenges experienced by the Indian Railways due to recent accidents and talk of much-needed upgrades to safety and other infrastructure. This has caused some to question whether the MAHSR is an effective use of resources. However, resourcing is only one of the issues being faced by the Railways. We heard a similar debate about the Indian space programme, which has seen some remarkable achievements.
There are three advantages from the MAHSR project: economic benefits, including infrastructure development and job creation; technological development, in which Indian companies imbibe the new technologies and potentially also become suppliers to HSR contracts worldwide; and cultural transformation through a demonstrated ability to implement large projects and improve safety.
Investment in infrastructure development has always acted as a catalyst in the economic growth of India. This project could provide an important boost to public investment. The soft funding of the project by the Japanese government is an additional advantage, which brings the two countries together and provides significant economic benefits. In addition to creating demand for local industry, the project would also generate significant employment for a large number of skilled and unskilled workers. The HSR system is more energy- and fuel-efficient. Studies show that HSR systems are around three times more fuel-efficient than aeroplanes and five times more fuel-efficient than cars. Given the traffic density in this corridor, this project could lead to a significant reduction in India’s carbon footprint.
Ushering in technology
A large part of this project will be focussed on bringing new technology to Indian companies. Most of these technologies are not currently available in India and introducing new technology often provides spin-off benefits to other areas of the economy. A dedicated High Speed Rail training institute is being developed at Vadodara.This institute will be fully equipped with technologies such as simulators and will be functional by the end of 2020. It will be used to train about 4,000 staff in the next three years, who will then be responsible for the operations and maintenance of MAHSR, and also provide a foundation for the future development of other high-speed corridors in India.
The success of this project, however, will lie in its execution. Its successful and timely completion could act as a powerful catalyst to create a culture of efficient project implementation in India. Similarly, there should be a focus on leveraging the post-implementation synergies, which could make this a transformational project for India.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-track-to-success/article19664319.ece#ampshare=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-track-to-success/article19664319.ece
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe will be laying the foundation stone of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, popularly known as the bullet train, on September 14 in Ahmedabad. This visionary project will herald a new era of safety, speed and service and help the Indian Railways craft a pathway to becoming a global leader in scale, technology and skill. Here are five reasons to laud this transformational leap in India’s transportation history.
One, attractive low-cost long-term financing. As a part of the cooperation agreement between India and Japan, the government of Japan will provide a soft loan of about Rs 90,000 crore at a minuscule interest rate of 0.1 per cent over 50 years. The repayment of the loan is to begin after 15 years of receiving the loan. Generally, any such loan, even from other multilateral or bilateral development financing institutions, would cost between 3-7 per cent with a repayment period of 20-30 years. India is getting the loan for the MAHSR at close to almost zero cost. This saves any strain on existing financial resources, as more than 80 per cent of the project cost is being funded by the government of Japan in this way. It is for the first time that an infrastructure project of this size and magnitude is being funded on such favourable terms.
Two, stimulus for advanced components’ manufacture and construction. One of the stated objectives of the project is “Make in India”, which is being actioned even before the commissioning of the project. As per the agreement between the two governments, the MAHSR Project has “localised manufacture” and “transfer of technology” as twin, complementary objectives. Under the guidance of the task force comprising of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), action is being initiated as per the agreed guidelines. Four sub-groups with representatives from Indian industry, Japanese industry, DIPP, and JETRO have to identify potential items and sub-systems for manufacture in India. It is instructive to recall how an investment by Suzuki in the automobile industry spawned a new generation of Indian auto-component manufacturers from the early ’80s.
In 1983, Maruti started operations with CKD (completely knocked-down-kits) of imported components. Over the years, localised production of components increased significantly, as part of the agreed phased manufacturing programme. Today, there are close to 250 Japanese and Indo-Japanese component-makers operating in India. This enabled the Indian auto-components business to rise to global expectations and created vibrant clusters in towns like Gurugram, Pune, Indore and Chennai. It is expected that many joint ventures will be formed to take up the manufacturing of various components related to track and rolling stock. The construction sector in India is also expected to get a big boost not only in terms of works contracts but also with respect to new technology and work culture. This project is likely to generate employment for about 20,000 workers, who will then be equipped to take up construction of more such projects in India. The new areas where construction skills would be developed are ballast-less track, under sea tunneling et al.
Three, professional capacity-building. A dedicated High Speed Rail Training Institute is being developed at Vadodara. This institute will be fully equipped with equipment and facilities, such as a simulator, as exist in the training institute at Japan. This institute will be functional by the end of 2020, and have facilities to train about 4,000 staff in the next three years, who will then be utilised for operation and maintenance. They will also serve as a backbone for the development of other high speed corridors in India. In addition, 300 young officials of the Indian Railways are being trained in Japan to give them exposure in high speed track technology. As these young professionals absorb the latest technologies, they will then be able to manage other high speed corridors which are under consideration.
Four, speed. There are two types of services proposed. A “rapid train” service with only two stops — at Surat and Vadodara — and a slower service that halts at 10 stations en route. The “rapid train” would complete the journey in 2 hours and 7 minutes, while the slower service would take 2 hours and 58 minutes. Thirty-five daily services will be operated on the line, with three services per hour during peak times and two services per hour during off-peak times. The estimates are that the high speed rail corridor will have a daily ridership of around 36,000 in 2023. This is widely expected to enable the railway system to begin winning back the creamy layer of higher-fare paying passengers in inter-city routes from the hemorrhaging occurring today vis-à-vis the domestic aviation sector.
Five, cutting edge operational technology. India is getting cutting-edge operational technology in totality. The Shinkansen technology is renowned for its reliability and safety. The train delay record of Shinkansen is less than a minute with zero fatalities. Thus, the project is set to provide reliable and comfortable service with high standards of safety. The technology regarding disaster predictions and preventions will also be acquired as part of the project.
It is amusing to recall that when the first Rajdhani left Delhi for Howrah on March 1, 1969 at 5:30 pm, it collapsed a journey that took upwards of 24 hours to 17 hours. The ticket price was Rs 280 for AC First and Rs 90 for AC Chair Car. As the glistening red-and-white fully air-conditioned train, with quality meals thrown in, zipped past iconic cow-belt stations at 120 km/hour without stopping, many editorials branded it as “elitist” and a luxury that a poverty-stricken India could do without.
We should be careful not to confuse leapfrogging technology development with elitism — whether it is mobile phones, satellite launches, regional air-connectivity or high-speed rail.
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-india-needs-a-bullet-train-china-abe-modi-ahmedabad-mumbai-4839143/
On September 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for India’s first High-Speed Train Project, otherwise known as the Bullet Train project, which will connect Ahmedabad and Mumbai and reduce the current railway journey time of 7-8 hours between the two cities to 2:07 hours by the train with limited stops and to 2:58 hours by the train with additional stops.
Planned as a collaboration between India and Japan, with the aim of bringing the most modern technology to the Indian Railways (IR) as well as boost industrial and infrastructural development and economic growth, the Bullet Train has been subject to the same vein of charges of “elitism” and “wastage”, and even the old narrative of “why spend on new when the old and exiting need fixing”. It may be recalled that, in their planning days and early implementation stages, this was almost exactly what was said about, say, the Rajdhani Express or the Delhi Metro, or even the Maruti car. We know only too well how those panned out and what far-ranging changes they brought to the economy and beyond.
An overview of what exactly the Bullet Train involves and entails should not only set to rest the scepticism but also demonstrate how it is likely to bring about a paradigm shift for Indian railways and industry. As far as IR itself is concerned, the country’s first Bullet Train could herald a new era in speed and safety. IR could then be catapulted into becoming a global leader in technology and skill.
What, then, are the salient features of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor project and what could be its benefits?
Low Project Cost
The first Bullet Train myth that needs to be busted is the notion that it is unaffordable for India and is a waste of money. The fact, however, is that Japan is providing India a loan of approximately Rs 88,000 crore at an interest rate as low as 0.1% , with a repayment period of 50 years and the repayment beginning after 15 years since receiving the loan. The interest works out to Rs 7-8 crore per month. The total project cost is Rs 1,08,000 crore.
Therefore, this practically zero-cost loan puts no constraints on India’s own exchequer, with nearly 80% of the project cost is being financed by Japan. In contrast, a similar loan from the World Bank, etc, would come at about 5-7% interest and a repayment period generally ranging between 25 to 35 years and no more. As a rule, large infra projects are debt-funded and the debt itself comprises the lion’s share of total costs. In the case of the MAHSR, what we are witnessing are unprecedented favourable terms for an Indian infra project.
Boost to Manufacturing & Construction
‘Make in India’ is a stated objective of the MAHSR project and it is preceding the commissioning of the project itself. The project has the twin objectives of both localised manufacturing and technology transfer.
With the discussions between Japanese and Indian industry already underway, a significant number of joint ventures will be formed to begin the manufacture of necessary components, including, very importantly, the rolling stock. The resultant job creation in India will be explored in some more detail later. In sum, the Make in India tag to the project will also ensure that most of the investment is to be spent and used up within India. Looking ahead, India would be in a position to manufacture and export Bullet Train technology to other countries.
The advent of the new technology and the accompanying work culture is set to be a boon for the domestic construction sector as well. The construction phase itself is expected to create about 20,000 jobs for workers. Since these workers will have to be necessarily trained as well to specifically engage in similar construction projects in India, there will be a skill consolidation and pass-on effect on the economy too which will be a big long-term gain. Among the new construction skills to be picked up, we could be looking at undersea tunnels, ballast-free tracks and so on.
Skill & Engineering Capacity-Building
Vadodara will see a new and dedicated High Speed Rail Training Institute, which is being developed. To be operational by end-2020, the institute will boast equipment and facilities on a par with those in Japan. The institute will train 4,000 staff over the next three years to operate and maintain the high-speed train project. Skilling Indians will also ensure that India’s high-speed train projects do not become dependent on foreign human resources. Moreover, those trained in the next three years will be vital to other high-speed corridors subsequently built in India.
There are other provisions too. As of now, 300 railway officers are being trained in Japan for understanding high-speed track technology. Besides, Japan is offering and fully funding 20 Masters seats annually to serving Indian Railways officials at Japanese universities.
Also, as the engineers get exposed to the technology and learn its fundamentals, they will be able to help the development of the same and similar technology in India. India’s overall HRD capacity as a result of the MAHSR and other HSR projects could then spread to other hi-tech and large infra projects as well and even take Indian workers abroad for the same.
Safety, Speed, Technology & Scale-Up
High-Speed Rail (HSR) refers to all railways systems that run trains at above 250 kmph. Available in 15 countries till date, India has been an exception among major passenger railway systems in the world.
With the Bullet Train, India is not playing catch-up in technology any more. Rather, it is deploying full-scale cutting-edge technology. It is a giant technological leap for the country and sets a precedent. It is not insignificant that Japan and its Shinkansen have been chosen for this. The Shinkansen HSR is renowned for speed, safety and reliability. Introduced in Japan in 1964, Shinkansen today has one of the very best safety records among HSRs. Incidentally, Shinkansen has a delay record of under a minute. More importantly, it has a zero-fatality record in over 50 years.
The MAHSR project, therefore, ought to have reliable service and a very high standard of safety. It will not come without the accompanying technology for disaster-prediction and prevention. The MAHSR safety system will ensure that operational safety is compromised by natural calamities like earthquakes. It should be noted that being a highly earthquake-prone country, Japan specially equipped its Shinkansen system with anti-earthquake and quake-resistant measures and technology. The MAHSR corridor is elevated for safety and land economy.
The introduction of the Bullet Train in India will see the rail travel time between the two cities in the first project – Mumbai and Ahmedabad – reduced to approximately 2 hours from the current 7-8.
Also, once the technology reaches Indian shores, the ‘Make in India’ dimension to the MAHSR project will ensure it takes roots here. There will, thus, be a scaling-up of the HSR in India thereafter. As a matter of fact, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (responsible for the MAHSR too) has been studying other HSR corridors. These future HSR-grade corridors are: Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Chennai, Delhi-Chandigarh, Mumbai-Nagpur, Delhi-Nagpur.
Before we conclude, let us take a brief look at the key technical features of the MAHSR project and its key economic benefits:
Key Technical Features:
* Length of MAHSR route: 508 km (approximately).
* Double-tracked, via two states: Maharashtra (156 km) and Gujarat (351 km); and via the Union territory of
Dadra & Nagar Haveli (2 km).
* Longest tunnel: 21 km, 7 km undersea (Thane Creek).
12 stations: Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad,
Sabarmati. (Mumbai station underground, rest elevated.)
* Maximum Design Speed: 350 kmph.
* Maximum Operating Speed: 320 kmph.
* Journey time: 2.07 hours (limited stops), 2.58 hours (additional stops).
Key Economic Benefits:
* 20,000 construction jobs.
* 4,000 direct operational jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs.
* Boon for urban and industrial development along the HSR corridor.
* Capacity-building and tech-grounding for other HSR projects.
* Commuting capacity-building, ease of travel.
* Farmers can move agricultural produce at high speed, faster business travel, spreading benefits across the economy.
As the details above demonstrate, a leap in technology on this scale comes with immense qualitative and quantitative benefits which spread out across the economy and even help revamp and reshape it. Charges of elitism or extravagance do not hold against a project on this scale, which can bring long-term and far-reaching benefits to both economy and society, to say nothing of domestic R&D. The measure of the MAHSR project, thus, cannot be taken by comparisons with legacy issues and longstanding problems of the railways. It has to be seen from the correct perspective, which will show that, if successfully designed, built and operated, we could be looking at an almost overnight leap in infrastructure and technology in India over a half-century lag.
Source: http://thetruepicture.in/what-the-bullet-train-brings-to-india-and-where-it-plans-to-take-india/
बुलेट ट्रेन भारतीय रेलवे में वह परिवर्तन लेकर आएगी जो मारुति कार ऑटोमोबाइल क्षेत्र में लेकर आई थी। इस कदम से रेलवे का कायाकल्प हो जाएगा। ये बात रेलमंत्री पीयूष गोयल ने कही। वे मुंबई-अहमदाबाद बुलेट ट्रेन परियोजना के बारे में बात कर रहे थे। दो दिन बाद इस परियोजना का निर्माण प्रारंभ हो जाएगा। प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी 14 सितंबर को अहमदाबाद के साबरमती में जापान के प्रधानमंत्री शिंजो आबे के साथ इस प्रोजेक्ट का भूमि पूजन करने जा रहे हैं।
पीयूष गोयल ने संवाददाता सम्मेलन में परियोजना की खूबियों पर प्रकाश डाला। उन्होंने कहा कि मारुति कार आने के बाद तीस साल में भारत का आटोमोबाइल क्षेत्र एकदम बदल गया। इसी तरह का परिवर्तन बुलेट ट्रेन आने के बाद रेलवे में दिखाई देगा। मारुति से शुरुआत होने के बाद अब भारत की सड़कों पर एक से बढ़कर एक आधुनिक कार दिखाई देती है। परंतु रेलवे में ऐसा नहीं हुआ। वह आज भी पुरानी तकनीक पर चल रही है। यही वजह है कि प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने आते ही देश में बुलेट ट्रेन लाने का निश्चय किया। ताकि रेलवे में भी नई से नई तकनीक आ सके। बुलेट ट्रेन आने से रेलवे में बड़े परिवर्तन देखने को मिलेंगे। इससे आधुनिक तकनीक आने के साथ अर्थव्यवस्था को लाभ के साथ रोजगार के लाखों नए अवसर पैदा होंगे।
रेलमंत्री ने कहा कि एक बार बुलेट ट्रेन आने से रेलवे में एक नया नजरिया पैदा होगा। भारत बुलेट ट्रेन की लागत कम कर विदेशों में उसका निर्यात कर सकता है। इससे अन्य ट्रेनों की रफ्तार बढ़ाने तथा उन्हें सुरक्षित चलाने की प्रेरणा भी मिलेगी। क्योंकि आज तक एक भी दुर्घटना न होने के कारण जापानी शिंकांशेन बुलेट ट्रेन तकनीक विश्र्व में सर्वाधिक सुरक्षित मानी जाती है।
गोयल के मुताबिक प्रधानमंत्री मोदी के प्रभाव के कारण भारत को बुलेट ट्रेन के लिए 0.1 फीसद की नगण्य ब्याज दर पर कर्ज मिला है। यह अनुदान जैसा ही है। पचास सालों में शायद ही किसी परियोजना के लिए इतनी सस्ती दर पर ऋण मिला होगा। इस कारण बुलेट ट्रेन की लागत काफी कम होगी। आगे चल कर जब कई बुलेट ट्रेन परियोजनाएं बनेंगी तो लागत और घटेगी। उसी तरह जिस तरह एलईडी बल्बों की लागत घटी है।
गोयल ने कहा कि वैसे तो परियोजना को 2023 में पूरा होना है। लेकिन भारतीय इंजीनियरों की कार्यकुशलता को देखते हुए मुझे भरोसा है कि हम इसे 2022 में ही पूरा करने में कामयाब हों जाएंगे।
Source: http://www.jagran.com/news/national-indias-rail-network-will-be-revolutionised-with-bullet-train-initiative-says-piyush-goyal-16692666.html
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