Thursday, July 10, 2014

Bullet trains in India: Reality or nightmare for govt?



I have always hoped that with improved technology, railways could serve India far better than airlines for connecting cities within 500 KM of each other. The reduced fuel consumption, reduced emission of green-house gases, etc. could lead to a superior solution to our travel needs. 

However, now we have cost estimates like Rs 63,000 Crores for connecting Mumbai with Ahmadabad by bullet train. The article referred above raises reasonable questions about the logic of this bullet train proposal. It is necessary for railways to throw some light on the possible economics of what is envisaged. Otherwise, the credibility of the railways would be seriously damaged.

I invite readers to do their own calculation of the ticket price, making a few assumptions of their own: return to be expected on the investment, the number of passengers traveling between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in a year, etc. The results would be revealing.

Srinivasan Ramani

3 comments:

Srinivasan Ramani said...

Please read the comment that Mumbai-Ahmadabad bullet train ticket will cost at least Rs 5,000. I believe it is a sensible estimate. An express train ticket today costs less than Rs 600 to cover the same distance.

Better to have bio-toilets than Bullet Trains

Srinivasan Ramani

Srinivasan Ramani said...


This report from the Indian Express is dated April 2016. It offers some analysis of cost and prices.
100 trips a day to be viable, says IIM study

Unknown said...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the ambitious Rs 1.08 lakh crore ($17 billion) bullet train project for which he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone here would bring pace to development in the country.