MAHSR project

Why in news?

Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR), an Ind0-Japan collaborative project to be inaugurated shortly at Ahmedabad.

What are the significance of this bullet train initiative?

• Investments -Japan will provide a soft loan of about Rs 90,000 crore at a minuscule interest rate of 0.1 per cent over 50 years.
• More than 80 per cent of the project cost is being funded by the government of Japan.
• The repayment of the loan is to begin after 15 years of receiving the loan.
• Manufacturing -The MAHSR project has a twin objective of “localised manufacture” and “transfer of technology”.
• Employment -This project is likely to generate employment for about 20,000 workers, who will then be equipped to take up construction of more such projects in India.
• The new areas where construction skills would be developed are ballast-less track, under sea tunnelling
• Capacity building -A dedicated High Speed Rail Training Institute is being developed at Vadodara, will be fully equipped with Japanese equipment and facilities.
• This institute will be functional by the end of 2020, and train about 4,000 staff in the next three years, who will then be utilised for operation and maintenance.
• Faster Connectivity -A “rapid train” service with only two stops at Surat and Vadodara and a slower service that halts at 10 stations en route.
• The “rapid train” would complete the journey in 2 hours and 7 minutes, while the slower service would take 2 hours and 58 minutes.
• High-end technology -The project is set to provide reliable and comfortable service with high standards of safety.
• The technology regarding disaster predictions and preventions will also be acquired as part of the project.

Source: Indian Express