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Prasad, accompanied by senior railway officials, got first hand experience of the fast trains travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto at a speed of about 300 km per hour. He boarded Shinkansen -- the Japanese name for the bullet train – from the Tokyo station at 9.10 am (local time).
The Tokyo-Kyoto bullet train ride normally takes about two hours and 20 minutes to cover the distance of about 515 km between the two stations.
Later in the evening, he and his team will travel to Shin-Kobe by another bullet train. The team is also scheduled to again travel to Tokyo from Shin-Osaka station by Shinkansen on Wednesday.
Prasad is leading the team from the ministry to Japan to have a detailed discussion for a loan for the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).
Meanwhile, the Railways have invited global tenders for conducting pre-feasibility study of high-speed train corridor on the Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar route.
The study will focus on technicalities, financial and operational viability of the project, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
Besides the Delhi-Amritsar route, the Railways have decided to conduct pre-feasibility studies for four more high-speed passenger routes.
The routes are Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai, Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulum and Howrah-Haldia.
The pre-feasibility studies will be followed by detailed project reports which will focus on traffic pattern, funding plan, stakeholders' view, fare structure and other related issues before beginning the work.
The dedicated high-speed train corridor is estimated to cost about Rs 50 crore per km. During his stay in Japan from January 12 to 16, Prasad will hold a series of meetings with Japanese ministers and dignitaries to discuss various issues related to bilateral co-operation between India and Japan in the rail sector.
Prasad will also travel to Singapore on January 17 to address the faculty and the students of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Besides Japan, there are some other countries like France and Germany which have shown interest in being part of India's high-speed train corridor project.
Since the proposed Delhi-Amritsar bullet train is to pass through Panipat, Ambala, Chandigarh and Jalandhar, the cost of the pre-feasibility study would be shared by Punjab, Haryana and Railway Ministry.
The idea is to construct a high-speed corridor in each region -- northern, western, southern and eastern -- of the country, the official said.
The study on the bullet train project is required for the involvement of financial institutions and industries, while the government will give stress on viability gap funding.
Many states like Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal have agreed to part-fund the project.
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here is a minister who is doing his job very well. many may call him names but time and again he has proved his mettle and worth. great job sir, hope you can progress on the high speed front also.
What is a big deal in it? Atleast 100000 indians or even more would have enjoyed the ride on these Japanese trains before Laloo the joker got a chance. Another point which Laloo keeps barking is that he has a cash surplus of 30000 crores in Railways and under his leadership railways has made so much of profit.It that is the case, then why is he going to Japan to ask for investments in Delhi Mumbai freight corridor. He can as well invest all that money and make this country feel really proud.
lalus brain works at 500 km per hour when it come to making money!
How come bullet trains are not tried in the southern cities chennai bangalore and hyderabad Lalooo Bhai.
ALL THESE MINISTERS GO TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND ENJOY THEMSELVES. THEY DO NOT LEARN AND TRY TO IMPLEMENT GOOD THINGS IN INDIA. I AM SURE THE BULLET TRAIN WAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE. AT THE TIME OF ELECTIONS THE MINISTERS WILL TALK OF SUCH HI-TECH AND HI-FI THINGS AND PEOPLE WILL DREAM ABOUT THEM FOR A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ELECTIONS AND THEN GO BACK TO LIVING THE SAME WAY THEY HAVE DONE FOR YEARS, HOPING THAT THE NEXT GOVT. WILL CHANGE THINGS FOR THEM.
Laluji arre bhhai!! Please get the Shatabdi and Rajdhani upto speed in all the major cities and towns and then think of bullet train. Hawa me udta jai hamara laluji bihar ka!
Can't see that happening in next 5-6 years
This sure sounds very progressive. When I travelled last month from Jodhpur to Jaipur by an overnight train, it had no pantry and one struggled to even find bottled water. Talking of bottled water, it surprises me why no brand of repute ever sells on railway platforms, you only get what looks like sub standard, local brands. In my last 20 years of train travelling, I have seen very few changes and its really impossible to say anything has changed except for computerisation of ticket issuance. Getting a ticket through a tout is still sometimes the only way of getting tickets. Net net everytime you travel on a train you feel Indian Railways is doing you a great favour by allowing you to use their facilities. Have lived in Mumbai for many years wondering if railways is a machine for killing people. I wonder how life will be when these bullet trains co-exist with what must be the shabbiest and most inefficient public transport.
This sure sounds very progressive. When I travelled last month from Jodhpur to Jaipur by an overnight train, it had no pantry and one struggled to even find bottled water. Talking of bottled water, it surprises me why no brand of repute ever sells on railway platforms, you only get what looks like sub standard, local brands. In my last 20 years of train travelling, I have seen very few changes and its really impossible to say anything has changed except for computerisation of ticket issuance. Getting a ticket through a tout is still sometimes the only way of getting tickets. Net net everytime you travel on a train you feel Indian Railways is doing you a great favour by allowing you to use their facilities. Have lived in Mumbai for many years wondering if railways is a machine for killing people. I wonder how life will be when these bullet trains co-exist with what must be the shabbiest and most inefficient public transport.
If there is no high-speed train in india in the next 18/24 months, then we can conclude that Lalu's japan visit is a waste of taxpayers money, and he should be asked to refund the amount spent to national exchequer.
dear sir,i think lalu prasad is the No:1 railway minister in India.he knows administration very well.
Good news. Let us hope the implementation is fast and without any set backs of any form.
India urgently needs high speed rail connectivity as it is vital for greater economic growth. China has already left India behind on this score. Super high speed rail connectivity in Shanghai and high speed connectivity between other cities like Beijing-Tianjin, Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Hangzhou are examples. India needs to build better and bigger. Stop thinking small.
While it is laudable for the Hon'ble Minister to think of introducing the High Speed Rail Corridor in our country, the following things in the present set up needs his urgent attention:Improving hygiene in the trains.Provision of fresh and hygienice bedding equipment for a/c passengers.Quality and quantity and rates of food served on the trains.Complete banning of unauthorised hawkers and beggars on the trains.To put an immediate ceiling on the number of berths sold on tatkal at not more than 10% so that passenges who plan their journey with in a reasonable period of advance say 14 days are ensured reservation.Heavy fine as deterrent from boarding reserved bogies Last but not the least adquate lighting of all station premises and allowing only passengers ( in case of fit ones) and a single attender in the case of old and sick persons to help them board the trains. In my humble opinion these require the urgent attention of none other than the Hon'ble Minister himself.
A leader who was made a joke by every corner of the society has blown off their heads by proving his worth. He has set an example to other politicians ! We are proud to have you atleast.
Good Work Laluji. Go ahead. Speed up the operations. India needs it as sson as possible. Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Bangalore routes should be considered.