India Asks Japan to Release Tenders for Bullet Train Systems Without Delay

India has let Japan know that tenders for electrical and signalling frameworks, as well as the moving stock, for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail passageway ought to be drifted immediately as land issues faced by the project seem to have been settled.

According to sources Japan and India have agreed to set a limit for the expense of the frameworks and rolling stock, and that if the costs for these cited by Japanese companies go past that cap, the balance will be footed by the Japanese side, outside the extent of the loan agreement for the project.

This settles a longstanding impasse that the project has confronted, with costs for the majority of the critical items to be provided by Japanese companies demonstrated to depend on 90% higher than project experts’ evaluations.

The Japanese government’s Japan International Cooperation Agency is covering 80% of the expense of the bullet train project with a delicate loan to India that constrains the task to source basic parts just from Japanese providers. The project is supposed to cost Rs 1.6 lakh crore.

In the 6th meeting of the Joint Working Group for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Project, the Indian side imparted to their Japanese partners that the tenders for the frameworks, particularly the electricals and signalling, ought to be granted by December-March, it was learned.

The meeting, held recently, was co-led by V K Tripathi, the chairman, and CEO of the Railway Board, and Satoshi Suzuki, the Japanese ambassador.

In a significant sign that the project may finally have the option to put its property-related issues in Maharashtra behind it, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation, the implementing agency of the venture, on Friday drifted the tender for the 21-km tunnel in the state. 7kms of the tunnel will be under the ocean.

The tunnel is the most mind-boggling piece of civil engineering work in the 502-km corridor. The tender for the tunnel is available to worldwide competition, with both Japanese and Indian companies permitted to tie up with other global players to make bids.

One more worry for the project was the acquirement of the rolling stock — the actual train sets. According to Japan, just Kawasaki and Hitachi are qualified to supply the rolling stock. Sources said the Indian side had needed to stay away from a circumstance where both the companies mutually present a bid, which could raise the cost.