India’s first bullet train is yet to transport a single passenger 10 years after the joint project with Japan broke ground, as the undertaking devolves into sniping and recriminations.
The route is expected to come into service next summer, albeit using slower trains that won’t cover the planned 316 miles. While a former Japanese minister said the delays are “100 per cent the fault of the Indian side,” unforeseen difficulties arising from COVID and land acquisition also derailed the initiative, the International High-Speed Rail Association’s head told The Indian Express.
Despite tensions, Tokyo and New Delhi remain mostly aligned, an Indian diplomat told the Financial Times: “The velocity of the bilateral relation is faster than the velocity of the high-speed rail project.”