'Fake news': Ministry of Railways denies rejecting Japanese bullet train technology

New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) The Railways Ministry has dismissed as baseless and misleading some reports claiming that India has decided not to run the Japanese bullet train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.

Releasing a fact check on these 'fake news' reports, the Ministry said that it has taken no such decision to reject Japanese technology.

“Some articles and social media posts claim that the Ministry of Railways has decided to not run the Japanese bullet train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. This claim is misleading! The Railway Ministry has made no such decision,” said a statement.

The Ministry said that in the spirit of the strategic partnership between India and Japan, the Government of Japan has decided to introduce the next-generation E10 Shinkansen trains for this project.

It is noteworthy that E10 will be introduced simultaneously in India and Japan, it added.

“The entire 508-kilometre corridor is being developed using Japanese Shinkansen technology, setting new benchmarks in speed, safety, and reliability,” said the ministry.

Earlier, the Ministry shared details on the opening of the first section of the 21-km undersea tunnel between BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) and Thane.

It said in a statement that the bullet train project recently achieved a major milestone by completing 310 km of viaduct construction.

“Track laying, construction of overhead electrical wires, stations, and bridges is going on at a rapid pace. The construction work in Maharashtra has also picked up pace. In parallel, the progress on procurement of systems for operations and control is also going on well,” said the Ministry.

In the spirit of strategic partnership between Japan and India, the Japanese government has agreed to introduce E10 Shinkansen trains in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project.

Civil works are progressing at a rapid pace across the alignment. About 310 km of viaduct have been constructed. Fifteen river bridges are completed, and four are in the advanced stages of construction. Out of 12 stations, 5 are complete, and 3 more are now reaching the completion stage.

“The station at BKC is an engineering marvel. The station will be located 32.5 m below ground, and the foundation is designed to support the construction of a 95-meter building above ground,” said the Ministry.

--IANS

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