India working on developing bullet trains with indigenous tech: Vaishnaw

New Delhi: India is working on developing bullet trains with indigenous technology, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

He said in the Lok Sabha that the bullet train project, first of which is under construction between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, is very complex technologically and is being implemented with the help of Japan.

“Bullet train project is a very complex and technology intensive project.

Considering the highest level of safety and associated maintenance protocols, bullet train project has been designed with the support of Japanese railway. It is customised for Indian requirements and climatic conditions. “Timelines for the completion of the project can be reasonably ascertained after the completion of all associated works of civil structures, track, electrical, signalling and telecommunication and supply of train sets,” he said during Question Hour.

The total distance the bullet train will cover between the two western cities will be 508 km of which work in 320 km stretch has been going on in full swing, he said.

The minister informed Lok Sabha in a written reply that the Indian Railways sanctioned 9,784 railway bridges for repairs, strengthening, rehabilitation or rebuilding.

Vaishnaw responded to questions raised by nine MPs on whether the government has identified old railway bridges in Maharashtra which are in dilapidated conditions and the details of the repair work undertaken in the last three years.