India and Japan Strengthen Economic Ties with Joint High-Speed Rail Project

Strategic Insights -

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba have deepened economic cooperation between India and Japan with the launch of a joint high-speed rail project. The project, which will see the joint manufacture of India's first high-speed train, the E10 Shinkansen, in collaboration with Japan, is expected to boost investment and trade between the two nations. The project is part of the 508-km Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail project, which has been in the making since 2009. With Japan committing to fund 80% of the project through a soft loan, the collaboration is set to revolutionize India's rail network, reducing travel time between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to just two hours and seven minutes by 2028.

Key Takeaways:

  • India and Japan have launched a joint high-speed rail project, with the E10 Shinkansen to be manufactured in India under an agreement in principle between the two countries.
  • The project aims to boost investment and trade between India and Japan, with Japanese companies having invested over $40 billion in India in the past.
  • Indian Railways and Japan's International Cooperation Agency have completed four years of feasibility studies for the project, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2014.
  • The 508-km Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail project is expected to be completed by 2028, with the first stretch in Gujarat scheduled to open in 2027.
  • The project will require dedicated tracks and must maintain speeds above 250 km per hour.
  • JBIC has described India as the most 'promising' destination for Japanese investment, while JETRO has reported that 80% of Japanese companies want to expand in India, with 75% already profitable.

Statistics:

  • $40 billion: the amount of investment by Japanese companies in India.
  • $13 billion: the amount of private investment by Japanese companies in India in the last two years.
  • 80%: the percentage of Japanese companies that want to expand in India.
  • 75%: the percentage of Japanese companies that are already profitable in India.
  • 50 years: the number of years Japan's high-speed rail, the Shinkansen, has operated without a single passenger casualty.
  • 18,000: the number of days the Shinkansen has operated without a single passenger casualty.

Sources:

  • "Modi, Ishiba travel in bullet train as 15th India-Japan Summit begins" (India Blooms, August 30)
  • "Japan's high-speed rail service to be emulated in India's Ahmedabad-Mumbai rail link project" (Japan Times, 2014)