'Individual Opinion': India Dismisses Former Japanese Minister's Remark On Bullet Train Delay

Published 17 July 2026 · local

'Individual Opinion': India Dismisses Japanese Minister's Remark On Bullet Train Delay Published By, Last Updated: July 17, 2026, 18:00 IST Japanese Minister Hideki Makihara alleged

'Individual Opinion': India Dismisses Japanese Minister's Remark On Bullet Train Delay Published By, Last Updated: July 17, 2026, 18:00 IST Japanese Minister Hideki Makihara alleged Indian officials repeatedly failed to honour commitments on bullet train project and pursued "self-interest" during negotiations. Addressing a press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India-Japan discussion on Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail is in fact progressing well. India on Friday dismissed allegations by a former Japanese minister over a “delay" in the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project as “individual opinion" and asserted that construction work has rapidly progressed. Addressing a press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India-Japan discussion on Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail is in fact progressing well. “We have seen the post. It is an individual opinion and at considerable variance with facts. India-Japan discussion on Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail is in fact progressing well. Japan will provide the E20 train series, but only in the early 2030s. The train in question is still in development.

Meanwhile, construction work has rapidly progressed. The first section will be opened in 2027 itself. Therefore, both sides agreed to start the Indian high-speed train," he said. Japanese Justice Minister Hideki Makihara alleged Indian officials repeatedly failed to honour commitments and pursued “self-interest" during negotiations on the Shinkansen project. On allegations of Japan being excluded from the signalling system in the bullet train project, the MEA said the signalling equipment has been ordered accordingly and in line with international specifications. “No Japanese offer was received in this context. The project is in line with the common goal of starting the high-speed train project at the earliest," he added. India’s Bullet Train Project The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor, India’s first bullet train project, spans 508 km and aims to provide high-speed connectivity between Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor uses Japanese Shinkansen technology and is partially funded by the Japanese government’s Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through long-term concessional loans. Starting from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, trains operating at speeds of up to 320 kmph will transform intercity travel and strengthen economic integration among Mumbai, Vapi, Surat, Anand, Vadodara and Ahmedabad.