PTI
New Delhi
As remarks by a former Japanese minister on delays in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project triggered a controversy, India on Friday dismissed the criticism, stating it is an “individual opinion” that is “at considerable variance with facts”.
Hideki Makihara, a member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, sought to blame New Delhi for the timeline delays. He particularly flagged concerns over the Japanese side allegedly being “excluded from the signalling system” of the high-speed rail network.
Japan has been playing a key role in implementation of the mega project in terms of financing it as well as sharing technology, and engineering expertise.
“It is an individual opinion and at considerable variance with facts. India-Japan discussions on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train project are progressing well. Japan will provide E10 series trains, but only in early 2030s,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“The train in question is still under development. Meanwhile, construction work has rapidly progressed. First section will be opened in 2027 itself. Therefore, both sides agreed to start the operations with Indian high speed train,” he said. Jaiswal was responding to a question on Hideki’s criticism.
“The signalling equipment has been ordered accordingly and is in line with international specifications,” he said.
No Japanese offer was received in this context.
The project execution is in line with the common goal of starting the high speed train project at the earliest,” he said.
In a social media post, Hideki said he was involved in the project. “But what stood out in meetings and negotiations was the sheer recklessness of the Indian side, repeated over and over. They just don’t keep promises, no matter what,” he wrote in Japanese.
“Even if they make a promise, they flip it right away. They keep pushing their own self-interest. For the honour of all the Japanese folks who poured their hearts into this, I have to say it: I feel 100 per cent that the reason this hasn’t moved forward is entirely on the Indian side.”
Referring to the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Hideki said there was no clear outcome on the Shinkansen (bullet train) project, adding Japan has been “excluded from the signal system, the key to safety”.
Initially, India is expected to deploy indigenously built high-speed trains for the early phase of the project, but Japan will later supply its next-generation E10 series Shinkansen trains in the early 2030s.
