It is formally announced now that India will be using the Shinkansen technology for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project. India and Japan signed an MoU on December 12 on cooperation and assistance in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project. Japan has offered an assistance of over Rs 79,000 crore for the project which entails the construction of 508-kilometre railway line. The total project cost is pegged at Rs 97,636 crore. The cooperation of Japan will be fixed on transfer of technology and "Make in India". Japan will assist India in training of personnel for HSR.
Recent History
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor was part of five other corridors that were approved for feasibility study in the 2009-2010 Rail Budget by then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. Initially, the 650-km long high speed rail corridor was proposed to run from Pune railway station to Ahmedabad railway station via Mumbai. The point at which this route would touch Mumbai was to be decided when the feasibility report was prepared. The pre-feasibility study for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune corridor was completed by a consortium of RITES, Italferr and Systra. The proposed stations included Lonavla on Mumbai-Pune section and Surat, Bharuch and Vadodara on Mumbai-Ahmedabad section. It was proposed to have 32 services between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Railway officials also proposed extending the corridor up to Bangalore.
Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the SNCF carried out studies on the project. Following several meeting between JICA and Indian Railways officials, it was proposed to originate the corridor at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai with 11 stations on the route (7 in Mahararashtra, rest in Gujarat). Once operational, these air-conditioned bullet trains are expected to operate in the corridor at speeds of 320 km per hour, enabling commuters to traverse the 500-plus kilometre distance in around 2 hours.
In July this year, a joint Japanese-Indian survey team recommended a Shinkansen-style system for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad line, including the adoption of automatic train control and dedicated tracks.
Mumbai may have underground corridor to have high speed rail start from the CST terminal. The fare of the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is proposed to be around Rs 6,800 while the return ticket is pegged to be Rs 13,500, some news reports have indicated. As per the estimations, around 40,000 passengers are expected to avail this service everyday once it becomes operational in 2023.
What is Shinkansen technology?Shinkansen literally means new trunk line that refers to the high-speed rail line network in Japan which is operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. In order to enable high-speed operation, Shinkansen uses a range of advanced technology which helps the trains attain high speed without compromising on safety and comfort. Shinkansen routes are completely separate from conventional rail lines which are built without road crossings. These tracks are strictly off-limits to any other kind of traffic. These high-speed train network uses tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles rather than around them.
Shinkansen standard gauge track with welded rails help reduce the vibration while the continuous welded rail eliminate gaps at turnouts and crossings. Long rails are used, joined by expansion joints to minimize gauge fluctuation due to thermal elongation and shrinkage.
The Shinkansen has had a significant effect on Japan's business, economy, society, environment and culture in ways beyond mere construction costs and operation. According to one report, time savings alone by switching from a conventional to a high-speed network have been estimated at 400 million hours which has an economic impact of ¥500 billion per year.
The Shinkansen employs an Automatic Train Control system which eliminates the need for trackside signals. A central traffic control manages all train operations, and all tasks relating to train movement, track, station and schedule are networked and computerized. Shinkansen uses a 25kV AC overhead power supply to overcome the limitations of the 1,500 V direct current used on the existing electrified narrow-gauge system. Power is distributed along the axles of the train to reduce the heavy axle loads under single power cars.
Shinkansen trains are electric multiple units, offering fast acceleration, deceleration and reduced damage to the track because of lighter vehicles. In the event of an earthquake, an earthquake detection system can bring the train to a stop very quickly.
Japan's Shinkansen network had the highest annual passenger ridership of any high-speed rail network until 2011, when China's high-speed rail network surpassed it at 370 million passengers annually, though the total cumulative passengers, at over 10 billion for Shinkansen is still larger.
Its success has influenced other railways in the world and the importance and advantage of high-speed rail has consequently been re-evaluated.
BW Reporters
Ashish Sinha is an experienced business journalist who has covered FMCG, auto, infrastructure, tourism, telecom among several other beats. Ashish has keen interest in the regulatory scenario impacting different sectors. He writes on aviation, railways, post and telegraph, infrastructure, defence, media & entertainment, among a wide variety of other subjects.
