India Begins Construction on Home-built Bullet Train

19 Apr 2024 CW Team

India has commenced the construction of a domestically manufactured bullet train that is set to surpass speeds of 250 kilometers per hour (kmph) outspacing all existing trains within the Indian Railways network.

It is being built on the Vande Bharat platform that can already clock a maximum speed of 220 kmph.

The designs for this groundbreaking initiative are being crafted at the Indian Railways' Integral Coach Factory (ICF) situated in Chennai.

Globally, high-speed trains are categorized as those that operate at speeds exceeding 250 kmph, exemplified by renowned models like the French TGV and the Japanese Shinkansen.

India has opted for Japanese technology for the bullet trains designated for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai line currently under construction. The selected Shinkansen E5 series bullet trains boast a top speed of 320 kmph.

So far, the focus has been on enhancing the speed capabilities of Indian Railways trains. The (proposed) variant Vande Bharat trains can now reach from zero to 100 kmph in 52 seconds while the existing bullet trains do this in 54 seconds.

ICF, the force behind the indigenously developed Vande Bharat trains, will oversee the production of the made-in-India bullet trains. These trains will traverse the recently announced north, south, and east corridors, employing more Indian technology and domestic manufacturing, as stated by the official.

These endeavors will complement the Western Corridor, developed with Japanese collaboration and technology. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) extends a soft loan of approximately ?400 billion for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project.

National High-Speed Rail Corp. Ltd (NHSRCL), the implementing body of the bullet train project, recently reported the completion of 300 km of pier work. Land acquisition for the entire 508 km stretch was successfully concluded in January.

Infrastructure Transport

15 Sep 2025

Cabinet Approves Key Highway and Rail Projects in Bihar Region

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the four-laning of the 84.2-km Mokama-Munger section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur high-speed corridor, a key industrial region in poll-bound Bihar. The Cabinet also sanctioned the doubling of the 177-km Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat railway line, which passes through Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, at a cost of Rs 31.7 billion.The Rs 44.5 billion highway project will be constructed under the hybrid annuity model, a variant of public-private partnership. The Mokama-Munger stretch was the only remaining two-lane section of the 363-km Buxar-Bhagalpur corridor. Fou..

NGT Issues Notice on Bengaluru Twin Tunnel Project

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday issued notices in response to a petition filed by Bengaluru Praja Vedike and others, challenging the Bengaluru twin tunnel road project. Petitioners claim the project was “hastily announced” and bypassed mandatory environmental impact assessment procedures.Notices have been served to the Karnataka Government, Greater Bengaluru Authority, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE), the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and project consultants.The 16.74-km twin-tube..

India’s Residential Sales to Dip Slightly in FY26

Residential sales in India’s seven major cities are projected to decline by up to 3 per cent year-on-year in FY26 to 620–640 million square feet (msf), amid a moderation in sales velocity, according to ratings agency Icra.In FY25, sales stood at 643 msf, down 8 per cent YoY, following a sharp contraction in new launches and moderated demand in the affordable and mid-income segments. This slowdown came after the sector posted a robust compound annual growth rate of 26 per cent in area sales between FY22 and FY24.Icra noted: “Having seen a strong upcycle, the sector entered an equilibrium ..