In a bid to catch up with globalisation, the government is considering introducing high-speed trains in the country. In technological parlance, high-speed trains are those running at speeds over 250 km/hr.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the railway ministry to prepare a techno-economic feasibility report of some important corridors to introduce high-speed trains, ministry sources said. Once introduced, such trains would take passengers from Delhi to Mumbai in just five hours and Mumbai to Ahmedabad in two hours, they said.
Accordingly, RITES Ltd, a public sector undertaking of the railways, has been asked to undertake a feasibility report. To begin with RITES Ltd has taken up for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, which spans over 500 km, and the report is believed to be in the final stages. RITES Ltd said the area was emerging as a high growth sector, which is why special attention was being paid to it.
It is believed that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad train would cost more than Rs 8,000 crore.
The Prime Minister's Office is understood to have assured the railway ministry that resources would not be a problem.
High-speed technology has to be imported from abroad as of now. In view of this, the finance ministry has sought help from the Japanese government, the sources said, adding that a response is awaited.
Japan is the pioneer of high-speed trains, which it introduced as early as 1960. Other countries followed suit. At present, the fastest train in India is the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express, which runs at a speed of 130 km/hr.
A new superfast train with a speed of 150 km/hr would be launched soon between Delhi and Agra.
High-speed trains are perceived to be accident-proof and only sabotage can cause accidents in such trains.
