Indian Railways will build bullet train domestically; what will be its maximum speed?

The ambition for a Bullet Train is immense, but it demands a significant investment to establish the infrastructure and acquire the necessary train sets. Rather than relying on costly imports, efforts are underway to domestically manufacture these high-speed trains. Anticipated to surpass speeds of 250 kilometers per hour, India's home-built Bullet Trains hold promise for the nation's future transport landscape.

Will be faster than all other trains

As per a high-ranking government source, India has initiated the development of domestically produced Bullet Trains that will surpass speeds of 250 kilometers per hour. The official emphasized that the speed of planned Bullet Train will be more than all trains operated by Indian Railways.

Will be built on the platforms of 'Vande Bharat'

A Railway Board official mentioned, "The Made in India Bullet Train is being developed based on the platforms of 'Vande Bharat,' capable of reaching a top speed of 220 kilometers per hour." The design work for this project is underway at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, a division of the Indian Railways. Notably, internationally acclaimed high-speed trains such as the French TGV and the Japanese Shinkansen operate at speeds surpassing 250 kilometers per hour.

Japanese technology will be used

India relies on Japanese technology to operate Bullet Trains that will connect Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is extending a soft loan of approximately ₹40,000 crore for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, which has a total cost exceeding ₹1.08 lakh crore.

Faster than the original train too

According to the aforementioned Railway Board official, the Indian Railways is now focusing on improving the speed of its trains. He said, "The proposed Bullet variant of Vande Bharat trains can reach speeds of zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 52 seconds, while the existing Bullet trains do the same in 54 seconds." 

It is noteworthy that ICF manufactures the indigenous Vande Bharat trains. Bullet trains manufactured in India will run on the northern, southern, and eastern corridors, which were recently announced. 

300 kilometers of work completed

The Bullet Train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is being executed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on the ground. The company recently announced that 300 kilometers of piling work for the project has been completed. Land acquisition work for this entire 508-kilometer-long stretch was completed in January.