Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train may soon become reality

[Sashan]

HSR will reduce the depedency on motor vehicles and civil aviation. Motor vehicles and civil aviation are dependent on oil and it would increase the imports and affect the balance of payment and dependency on other countries.

 

[harpoon]

I agree with other points. As for the highlighted point, HSR and Civil aviation compliment each other. HSR would be a better option for intermediate distances - say between Chennai and Ernakulam. The distance can be covered in less than 4 hours through HSR. But the difference is electric power vs petroleum and less dependency on petroleum.

As for travel between Ernakulam/Coimbatore and Delhi, Civil aviation would be better option for want of time.

Yes..but for shorter journeys, even without HSR it can be achieved...Case in point Rajadhani Express. All it needs is a separate line for the goods train so that normal passenger trains are not held back at stations at regular intervals for 'passing' . I have heard that normal trains can easily achieve 150 km/hr speed without any problem, but its never achieved due to track conditions & congestion. We should focus on this basic problems first rather than going after the HSR dreams.

 

[Don777]

First atleast provide decent enough toilets in normal trains..then we can speak about HSRs. If this money is used to build dedictatedgoods corridors instead, the existing trains could be speeded up by a lot. Also take a part of that money and invest in the civil aviation sector. Given a chance b/n riding a 3 day journey by train or 4 hours journey by aircraft to Delhi(from my place)..most people will go for the latter. The only thing preventing them is the high cost.

You should not compare apples ro oranges. normal trains are for serving mass, not to get profit as much. You can see what is the ticket rate on these train. Even increase by few rupee, makes politicians come to the streets. While this high speed train is not for mass, it is for profit. Goverment can earn godd profit and theortically they can put this money to upgrade normal train without increasing ticket price. So if our goverment manages things well, it is a win-win scenarion.

 

[harpoon]

HSR will reduce the depedency on motor vehicles and civil aviation. Motor vehicles and civil aviation are dependent on oil and it would increase the imports and affect the balance of payment and dependency on other countries.

But what about goods..... I don't think HSR carries goods. As for civil aviation, I read somewhere that its the most cost effective way to transport large amounts of people over long distances. It may depend on oil, but HSR also depends on electricity which is mostly produced in India by burning coal.

You should not compare apples ro oranges. normal trains are for serving mass, not to get profit as much. You can see what is the ticket rate on these train. Even increase by few rupee, makes politicians come to the streets. While this high speed train is not for mass, it is for profit. Goverment can earn godd profit and theortically they can put this money to upgrade normal train without increasing ticket price. So if our goverment manages things well, it is a win-win scenarion.

but there is also a problem of this HSR not turning profit, like the Chinese HSR saddled with 300 billion debt.

 

[Sashan]

But what about goods..... I don't think HSR carries goods. As for civil aviation, I read somewhere that its the most cost effective way to transport large amounts of people over long distances. It may depend on oil, but HSR also depends on electricity which is mostly produced in India by burning coal.

Mate - I mentioned right that I am with you on a separate corridor for goods. As for the dependency on electricity, we produce coal and also we are setting nuclear plants and also I read somewhere 2 days back that even wind mills are coming up in a big way. So we are self reliant rather than depending upon import of oil and wasting forex. That is what I am alluding to. This is one of the major reasons why Japan went in for HSR.

If you look at US, US can be held at ransom by Saudi Arabia due to its dependency on oil as it had failed to develop a proper public transportation - not to mention HSR. For a person travelling from Boston to Washington DC, he immediately thinks about flying or taking his car though there are couple of trains available but not at the frequency he wants.

India needs to have a mix of both - civil aviation and proper railways.

 

[rickblood19]

With these bullet trains we should also concentrate on our present infrastructure.....make our present equipment more clean and make more services available such as the train from mumbai to bhubneshwar still doesnt have a proper charging point in sleeper class

 

[INDIC]

Aviation fuel is too much expensive isn't high speed rail more economical to run.

 

[Don777]

But what about goods..... I don't think HSR carries goods. As for civil aviation, I read somewhere that its the most cost effective way to transport large amounts of people over long distances. It may depend on oil, but HSR also depends on electricity which is mostly produced in India by burning coal.



but there is also a problem of this HSR not turning profit, like the Chinese HSR saddled with 300 billion debt.

How do we know it will not profitable in India without trying. Same medicine have different effects on different peoples. Its good to learn from others mistake, but it is worst to not to try something new. We are in development phase, if we keep trying new things than only we will develope. If we fear than we will never grow.
I belive we should try and hope for best.

 

[INDIC]

Lets see if this becomes affordable for everyone in India.....
IMO, i see it as a business class transportation only for the elites...

Mumbai is full of rich Gujarati businessmen, so yes this route will be going to be a hit and congested very soon.

 

[Rig Vedic]

One needs to find the optimum speed, optimum design and optimum cost. Something like 160 kmph average speed is a good point to aim for. One can do that without much change to existing track design.

At 160 kmph average Mumbai-Ahmedabad will be covered in about 3 hours.

They key thing is to separate the freight lines from the passenger lines. So it will need 4 lines in each corridor.

Very high speed but with expensive construction is of no use, it will be completely uneconomical. The fares will never cover even the interest cost, let alone the capital investment.

For very high speeds, plane is cheaper and more convenient than HSR, especially for longer trips. Should try to make air travel cheaper. Manufacture large capacity medium haul passenger aircraft indigenously.

 

[rubyjackass]

@cb4 - Another reason for these high speed trains is that they cut down the consumption of petrol and diesel as these will rely on electricity - India would need less flights or decrease the dependency on flights - one of the major reasons Japan went in for these trains. Also with the carbon emission limits being placed on various countries, these are eco-friendly modes of transportation.

Dude! after all if your pollution less electricity is being produced from coal, then it is worse than using a coal locomotive. So your logic is not completely valid.

 

[protest]

People need to realize is that this is slated for 2020. If you remember back in 2000, a 50 rupee ticket was considered expensive, now people spend 500-1000 rs easily on a long distance journey..Come 2020, enough people will most likely be able to bear the charges.

 

[Sashan]

Dude! after all if your pollution less electricity is being produced from coal, then it is worse than using a coal locomotive. So your logic is not completely valid.

Currently India uses Coal for half of the electricity generation. India is trying to increase the nuclear power based electricity generation and also wind energy and other renewable power sources to meet its future requirements. There was a shot in the arm for the nuclear based power as India recently found in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh one of the world's largest reserves of Uranium(initial assessment is 64,000 tonnes but the scientists believe it is somewhere around 150,000) - so India need not import the fuel.

So it depends on what will be the future predominant power source.

 

[debashish_j20]

SPANISH HAS THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST HSR SERVICE IN EUROPE-----I WUD PREFER THAT
SEE THEIR SAUDI ARABIA HSR CONSTRUCTION--

RENFE HIGH SPEED RAIL

EVEN KOREAN TGVs(FRENCH) ARE GOOD--
SEE THEM PASSING BY--

 

[kkacer]

china 500km/hr new bullet train

china 400km/hr bullet train