Bullet train project to get GIM thrust

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High-speed rail linking Bengaluru to Chennai and other Tier 2 cities in the State will soon become a reality.

After several rounds of talks between the Japanese government and the State government, the high-speed train project will get a thrust in this year’s Global Investors Meet (GIM), which will see the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the State government and the government of Japan.

The project has been conceptualised in three phases — between Mysore and Chennai via Bengaluru, between Bengaluru and Belgaum via Davanagere and Hubli, and between Bengaluru and Gulbarga.

“A Japanese company which has already discussed the project with the State government is expected to submit its technical report in December which will be forwarded to the Union railway ministry for approval.

The project will be taken up on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The first phase of the project will cost Rs 1 lakh crore at a per km cost of Rs 200 crore,” says large and medium scale industries minister Murugesh R. Nirani.

Mr Nirani recently led a delegation to Japan to discuss the high-speed train project with Japanese railway authorities.

The project will give a boost to the State’s economy and hence the State government is giving its full support.

It is said the Government of Japan will fund the project while the respective State governments in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will have to cooperate and sanction the land needed to accomplish the project.

It will take 2 hours to chennai

Japan’s famous ‘bullet trains’ make commuting much faster between two cities, and Karnataka is poised to provide a similar experience in collaboration with the Japanese government.

Travelling between Bengaluru and Chennai in a bullet train at a speed of 300-320 kmph will cut travel time drastically.

When the project is completed, it will take just two hours to travel from Mysore to Chennai via Bengaluru. Currently, it takes seven hours by Shatabdi, considered to be the fastest train in the country.

The introduction of a rail route will also reduce travel time between Bengaluru and Mysore. It takes three hours to reach Mysore by road; the bullet train will reduce the travel time to just 30 minutes.

Mysore city is an important trade and commerce hub. On a daily basis, a large number of traders and employees of IT companies commute on the Mysore- Bengaluru route.

The bullet train project will work wonders for trade, commerce and the booming IT industry. Preliminary work on the project, including the design, will be finalised in three months.

The State government will make a formal submission on the project to the Union government and work will then commence.