Indias 1st High-speed corridor Mumbai–Ahmedabad construction will start in 2017 and is expected to complete by 2022. Foundation stone ceremony was held on 14 September 2017 when Japanese and Indian prime minister flagged off construction work in Ahmedabad. The JR East/Hitachi E5 series of Shinkansen train sets will be used in this corridor. It will have design speed of 350 km/h, with maximum operational speed of 320 km/h and average speed of 260 km/h.

 

As of November 2016, the Indian Railways has asked Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) to prepare a detailed project report within the next six months. The railways aims to implement the first stretch of the project in less than three years’ time. Andhra Pradesh state government has decided to build its metro train system in major cities using the maglev technology. Changsha Metro system was studied by the state team to gain better understanding of the metro running using maglev. Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Amaravati metro railway system will be built using low speed maglev train system. It is expected make industrial sector in the andra pradesh most cost efficient and exports competitive in world market by reducing the logistics cost for transport of people and freight. Maglev based metro systems improve the quality of life in cities and provides efficient, high-speed rail systems to generate far higher levels of economic output. This is expected to create industrial base, hands-on expertise and lower cost for maglev in India. Kochi metro explored using the South Korean maglev technology, but it was not fully operational in 2011. So, Kochi metro opted for wheeled-train set technology for initial routes. But, future routes may use the maglev technology.^[61] India may build its future metro train systems using Maglev as it has faster acceleration and deceleration than traditional metro systems. China is building new lines for Beijing Metro and Changsha Metro using maglev technology to retain Chinese cost competitiveness in the world market by reducing the transportation time and cost. Earlier in 2016, Indian Railways announced a seminar with ultra-high-speed train manufacturers to explore the possibility of introducing an ultra-high-speed train system on a public–private partnership basis.^[62] The corporation has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) to global investors to implement an over-500-kilometre-per-hour (310 mph) rail system. Transport infrastructure (including stations, platforms, tracks, signal systems, fare structures and timetables) would be developed by private firms; Indian Railways would handle land-related issues, and revenue would be shared. The new railway system, parallel to the current one, should support passenger and freight traffic.

Purpose

Indian Railways is exploring the possibility of a super-speed also called ultra-high-speed rail network in India. The Railway Ministers vision is to make rolling stock the driver for Indias shift from being a technology importer and manufacturer to becoming a developer and designer for future rolling stock technology. It takes around 12–15 years for a railway line with a new technology. Looking at the history of DFC and HSR in India, a maglev train is not expected to become commercially operational by 2030 and if India wants to build a pan-India railway network based on maglev, completion may extend up to 2050-2060. India has large broad gauge network, which supports higher speed than the standard gauge. In the Indian context, high-speed trains built on the newer standard gauge tracks and older broad gauge tracks upgraded to run high-speed trains do not have much difference in terms of the speed of train they can support, but new high-speed tracks are very costly compared to the upgrade of older tracks. But, ultra high-speed trains running on maglev will bring in efficiency, time-saving and cost-saving to the Indian industry, general public and overall economy of the country with almost same cost as the wheeled high-speed trains. Such trains could make Indian industry and economy the most efficient in the world. However the major blocking financial hindrance is that maglev technology has consistently shown to be more than double the cost of standard steel-to-steel bullet train and thus has been a major economic hindrance to the beginning of any construction of the Chuo Shinkansen. China wanted to build its High Speed Network using the maglev technology. But, in 1998 there was no commercial train service running on maglev anywhere in the world. Then, China took a decision to go with the older wheel-based technology for its HSR network. Now, after around 20 years, India has opportunity to take a decision to build its HSR network using maglev as presently there are multiple maglev railway lines are in operation and construction stages in multiple countries. India is focusing on bringing 500–550 km/h trains within next 5 years through a Public-Private partnership model, where Indian Railway will be a partner by providing land for the railway lines and infrastructure. Every other aspect of the system will be decided and operated by the private partner. It is expected to provide following benefits to the Indian economy.

• It will bring down the transportation time and cost to lowest in the world. It will bring-in massive efficiency in Indian economy. Goods and people which used to take more than 3 days for transport, will be transported within 3 hours.
• It will build a local base for the next generation of the railway locomotives for export.
• India will be a leader in 21st-century railway technology by building a railway manufacturing eco-system with the help of private industry
• Indian logistics cost will drastically come down, as of now it is thrice of China.
• It will make Indian exports and manufacturing cost competitive, in the price sensitive world export market.
• It will create jobs in the economy, by bring in more business to small and medium scale industries who will act as a component and parts supplier to bigger manufacturing firms.
• It will accelerate scientific research within the country in high-end material science and magnetic science
• India will acquire a knowledge, which is as of now possessed by only handful of countries in the world
• High-end technology knowledge can be used for achieving geopolitical purposes and means as demonstrated by world powers. For example, sale of nuclear power reactors, jet-engines, high-speed trains, infrastructure building in other countries, military technologies, economic corridors are used in extending the influence of one country over other.
• India will have strong integration across regions, bringing down the regional differences and increasing people-to-people contact. Now, a North-East person has to spend three days in train to travel to south India. Super-speed trains will make it possible within hours with an affordable price.

Air travel vs high-speed trains

High-speed trains provide almost the same speed as air travel, while providing multiple additional benefits:

• Air travel is point-to-point, whereas high-speed trains provide connectivity to en route locations with railway stations almost every 50 km or so on a railway line.
• Air travel time savings are nullified by the inefficiency in pre- and post-travel procedures. A traveler may spend extra 6 hours for air travel:
  • 4 hours to check in (2 hours in each direction of travel).
  • 2 hours to travel to the airport (1 hour in each direction of travel), whereas railway stations are located nearer to more travelers points of origin.
• The cost of travelling to the airport is also saved, as high-speed rail stations can be reached through public transport.
• India will save a massive amount of foreign exchange as cabs and taxis which consume fossil fuel to transport passengers to the airport are not needed in a HSR era.
• Massive saving of foreign exchange for the country as trains will use the electricity rather than the costly air-grade fossil fuel used in aircraft which has to be imported.
• Environment friendly transport as there is no emission from the fossil fuel.
• Super speed trains create massive job opportunities in MSME sector within the country, as trains, stations, tracks, guidance and related equipment has to be manufactured and train infrastructure requires regular maintenance., where as aircraft are imported or leased.
• Democratisation of high-speed travel as more people will be able to access cost-effective high speed travel, which is as of now available to few in the country.
• Railways have to come-up with an answer to the access-controlled expressways which are expected to take away most of the railway passengers in the coming years, which will also cut the travel time by half and with your own vehicle. Only Super-speed trains have major benefit than going with your own vehicle on an expressways. As of 2017, India has approved construction of 10 expressways. US experience has shown that only a 500+ km per hour railway can provide the benefit over expressways, slower than that will lose out to expressways.

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