‘JAI’PAN, INDIA ON FAST TRACK
A bullet train between Ahmedabad & Mumbai, to be completed by 2022
The streets of Ahmedabad on Wednesday came alive with song and dance performances as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an 8-km road show with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and his wife, the first such event by the Indian premier with a visiting head of government.
Mr Modi held Mr Abe in his characteristic bear hug as he, accompanied by wife Akie, landed at the Ahmedabad airport, reflecting the close bonding the two leaders have forged over several meetings. In a gesture symbolising the growing ties between the two large Asiatic economies, Mr Abe wore kurta-pyjama and a royal blue Nehru jacket while his wife donned a red salwarkameez ensemble as they accompanied Mr Modi on the road show from the airport to the Sabarmati Ashram. Sabarmati Ashram was set up by apostle of peace Mahatma Gandhi who spent considerable time of his life there.
After laying the foundation for the bullet train, Mr Modi said, “The highspeed bullet train would go from his state. “It will not just reduce distance but also bring the people closer. The train will go from my Gujarat to my Mumbai.”
“The bullet train is in a way a big gift from Japan to India. It is in a way a project being constructed for free,” Mr Modi said.
The high-speed rail project between the two cities, about 500 km distance, is expected to be completed by 2022. “Now is not the time to develop slowly, time doesn’t wait. Technology is growing at a fast rate and now our priority is high speed. Speed badegi, distance ghategi (speed will increase, distance will decrease),” he said.
Mr Abe said, “If we were to merge Japan‘s ‘Ja’ and India’s ‘I’, it becomes ‘Jai’. If we work together, nothing is impossible. PM Modi and I will work towards realising Jai Japan, Jai India.”
Japan has extended a soft loan for the `1.10-lakh crore project, which is conceptualised by Mr Modi. It is a joint venture between Indian Railways and Japan’s Shinkansen Technology. Lauding Japan, he said the country was a friend in deed as it gave a loan of `88,000 crore at 0.1 per cent interest for the project.