* Very basic questions have been raised on the justification of bringing Bullet train & its technology to India thru 508km long Mum-Ahm project at cost of Rs 1,10,000 Crore Rs, which needs to be answered to the satisfaction of the people at large.
* However some of the claims look a bit exaggerated and incoherent like
(1) tilting trains can do 534km in just 2:50 hrs (avg speed 189kmph) on conventional high speed tracks against bullet trains doing it in 2:08 hrs. Conventional tracks after upgradation can at max support speed...
more... of 200kmph and an avg speed of 189kmph s not possible even with tilting trains. About 3:30 hrs should be required for a 200kmph tilting train to do 534kms
(2) Normal trains on conventional (upgraded) high speed track shall take still longer depending on the track geometry (curves, gradients etc) from 3:30 to 4:00 hrs.
(3) Cost of electrified 200kmph double track for Mumbai-Ahm including the cost of land acquisition should be about 40 crores per RKM and cost of bullet train is about 5 times and not 8-10 times claimed. Even 5 times is also very high. However, over the cost of technology transfer and its associated benefits to IR has to be discounted. Competitive bidding could have brought the cost significantly down.
(4) If the bullet train technology was developed for hilly terrain then why Mumbai-Pune hilly stretch was dropped from the original plan of Ahm-Mum-Pune?
(5) Earlier it was claimed that a component of only 30% of total cost shall be outsourced from Japan and now report claims it to be 70%!
(6) Does the project take care of India's interests like having uniguage rail network (Broad Guage) throughout the country? or it is suiting Japan to export its trains/track/technology to India as-it-is without giving due consideration/ customization to fulfill needs of India?
Many questions need to be answered.