Bullet Train project progressing well: India rejects e Japan minister's claim
India on Friday rejected allegations by a former Japanese minister that its officials were to blame for the delay in the Bullet Train project, built
India on Friday rejected allegations by a former Japanese minister that its officials were to blame for the delay in the Bullet Train project, built on the lines of Japan's Shinkansen high-speed railway. Japanese Justice Minister Hideki Makihara accused the Indian side of "sheer recklessness", alleging that officials repeatedly failed to honour commitments and pursued "self-interest" during negotiations on the project.
Read Full Story In a post on X on July 15, Makihara alleged a lack of progress in India's flagship high-speed rail corridor, and said the delay was "entirely on the Indian side". Makihara's comments were in response to an opinion piece on a Tokyo-based business news portal by Isao Tsujimura, a senior Japanese railway engineer and Delhi-based metro vehicle consultant, on July 15.
Tsujimura argued that India's Bullet Train project had significantly diverged from the Shinkansen model. The Indian government on Friday rejected the allegations. "We have seen the post you are referring to. It is an individual opinion, and at considerable variance with facts," Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said. "India-Japan discussions on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail are, in fact, progressing well.
Japan will provide the E20 train series, but only in the early 2030s. The train in question is under development," said Jaiswal. This is a developing story. It will be updated. Ends
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