Bullet Dreams and Media Acrobatics: India’s High-Speed Circus

 

The article titled ‘Vande Bharats to run on bullet train corridor, till Japanese Shinkansens arrive’, published under a New Delhi dateline on 22nd January 2025 in The Times of India (ToI), caught my eye with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal proclamation—only to quickly unravel into the literary equivalent of a magician pulling a rubber chicken out of a top hat. What began roughly as an affirmation of the publication's unflinching faith in official proclamations soon spiralled into a fever dream of fantasy—a heady determination to do one better than Indian Railways (IR), concocting unbridled optimism and wishful thinking, served with a garnish of absurdity. By the time I reached the end, my bemused disbelief had given way to hysterical laughter, the kind that escapes when one is faced with the sheer audacity of the hooey. One cannot help but wonder if the ToI is no longer just a news outlet but a willing participant in the grand IR theatre, taking every official whisper and turning it into a full-blown symphony—complete with the ToI's own tambourine of fiction and triangle of folly.

Extracts from the news item followed by my comments below in blue: 

The railway ministry has invited bids for a signalling system to enable Vande Bharat trains on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor by 2027, due to delays in procuring Japanese Shinkansen trains, which are now expected to be operational in stages by 2030 and fully by 2033. 

I note with wicked amusement how the start date for the much-hyped Japanese Shinkansen project has been deftly nudged to 2030, like a chef quietly adding "just a pinch more salt" to a dish that is already overdue at the table. Never mind that we are barely into 2025; the IR has kindly granted itself over five extra years to deliver a train that has been marinating in promises since 2014. Do these dates hold any real sanctity, or are they just party decorations to be rearranged whenever the music stops? Especially when the elephant in the room—a lingering dispute with the Japanese—remains cheerfully ignored. A caveat though, should we blame the publications? Their job, it seems, is less  questioning journalism and more that of polite waiters, serving up the ministry’s latest pronouncements with a flourish and a smile, without ever bothering to question what is on the plate.

Amid inordinate delay in finalising the deal for procurement of Japanese Shinkansen bullet trains for India’s first high-speed Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, the railway ministry has invited bids for a signalling system that will allow Vande Bharat trains, with a maximum design speed of 280 kmph, to run on this section. Though the ministry had earlier claimed that Shinkansen trains would make their debut on the Surat-Bilimora section by Aug 2026, now it is clear that these high-speed specialised trains may not be a reality before 2030. The operation of Shinkansen trains on the entire corridor — the foundation stone for which was laid in Sept 2017 — would be possible only by 2033, sources said. This became evident after the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHRSCL) last week published the tender for the signalling system for running Vande Bharat trains, which are being developed as India’s indigenous bullet trains.

I did applaud our ambition to create our own high-speed trains—though not without a pinch of scepticism, as I had mentioned in this blog:

Good initiative but guard your lagacy/2024/09/guard-your-legacy-icf-why-surrender.html

But let us focus on what is new here: the decision to opt for an ETCS Level II-type signalling system, ditching the Japanese one, and the curious decision to increase the speed of the proposed Indian train from 250 kmph to 280 kmph. Because, as if the leap from 180 kmph to 250 kmph was not enough of a moonshot, we had to go ahead and sprinkle in some extra adrenaline—on paper, of course. It is a delightful mishmash: Japanese loan, Indian train, European signalling, and, who knows, maybe the crew will be recruited from Timbuktu for the sake of global representation.

I am writing this barely two minutes after picking my jaw up off the floor, still grappling with the sheer audacity of this bureaucratic buffet. It is almost poetic—like trying to bake a cake with ingredients flown in from four different continents, while the oven is still under construction, and no one remembers where the recipe came from.

As per the tender document, the successful bidder will have to design, manufacture, supply, install and maintain the signalling and train control system. This will be the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level-2, different from the Japanese DS-ATC signalling for Shinkansen trains. The contract period for ETCS-2 is seven years from the date of award of work. Sources said the deployment of ETCS-2 on the corridor will ensure utilisation of the infrastructure. The plan is to start commercial operations of Vande Bharat trains on this track in 2027. “There is no point in keeping this high capital-intensive project unutilised for want of Japanese trains. The timeline for introduction of the E-10 series trains (an advanced version of bullet trains) in 2030 or later can be finalised once the trains meeting Indian conditions are made available,” a source said.

Oh, what a masterclass in turning contradictions into justifications! Infrastructure getting ready but not the train, albeit with a variable signalling system? No problem—let us run a "chimerical" train instead, and then replace the signalling system later to suit the Japanese train, because why not? Who are we to say that It is logic turned on its head, where fixed infrastructure, once a steadfast pillar of any project, suddenly transcends its definition to become a variant too—malleable, like soft clay in the hands of shifting priorities. 

Neither the railway ministry nor the NHSRCL respond to queries about the signalling tender and the timeline of Shinkansen train operation on this corridor. However, officials said they are confident of getting the best Japanese bullet trains for the project by 2030, and that the Vande Bharat trains, to be introduced as a stopgap arrangement, and would meet the expectation of passengers.

Even when the Vande Bharat trains are operational, the installation of the Japanese signalling system for Shinkansen trains can be carried out. As per the plan, once the Shinkansen trains are fully operational, the advanced versions of Vande Bharat trains and the ETCS would be shifted to other projects.

So, sir ToI, if the ministry and NHSRCL did not respond, who whispered these pearls of wisdom into your ears? A clairvoyant babu at Rail Bhawan, perhaps? What is next— Stations that shapeshift to welcome whichever train graces them with its hallowed presence? The whole charade is less a high-speed project and more a Kafkaesque carnival, where timelines, systems, and logic are tossed around with the grace of a clown juggling flaming torches—blindfolded and on a unicycle, wobbling precariously on the tightrope of hype.

I should pitch them the next chapter because, clearly, fixed infrastructure has now achieved the magical quality of portability! Signalling systems can apparently pack their bags and migrate to some mystical new Standard Gauge section that will miraculously materialize in seven years, complete with equally mythical Vande Bharat trains zipping along. And tracks? Oh, they’re no longer content with just adjusting their gauge—they’re ready to roll up like carpets and relocate at the whim of a press release!

Since the track is being built for 320 kmph, why stop there? Let us boldly upgrade it to 400 kmph! Better yet, let us construct a shiny new 400 kmph track and ship the "old" 320 kmph one—tunnels, viaducts, bridges, and all—to somewhere truly thrilling, like Delhi to Lucknow. Picture the pièce de résistance: an undersea stretch magically snaking its way beneath Lucknow, only to surface triumphantly at Barabanki. And there, in a flourish of bureaucratic genius, a once-humble BKC-style station would morph into a grand architectural marvel to rival the Akshardham temple—complete with fountains, LED light shows, and maybe even bullet train-shaped souvenir shops.

With The Times of India cheerleading this spectacle, who needs feasibility studies? Pigs can not only fly—they’ve probably booked their Shinkansen tickets for 2030. Amen!

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