By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 02, 2013: THE Minister of Railways, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, yesterday inaugurated a two-day ‘International Seminar' on “High Speed Trains in India - Issues & Options” being organised by Institute of Railway Electrical Engineers (IREE). Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that in view of growing economy there is a need to constantly improve infrastructure and address the issues of mobility of people. Referring to his own experience of high-speed train travel in Japan, Korea and France, the Minister said it was high time to think of such rail projects in India as well. ''The rapid urbanization, growing economy, rising level of educated work force and higher levels of income margins has caused greater growth in intercity travel both for business and personal reasons. Hence, high speed train services may be required to fulfill the demand gap for faster intercity and inter-regional movement of passenger traffic,'' he added.

The Minister pointed out that six corridors have been identified for techno-economic feasibility studies. The pre-feasibility reports, in respect of these identified corridors are at various stages of preparation and study. Government has already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor, as the pilot project of this kind. A Project Steering Group has been constituted which is examining the options available for this project and finalizing feasible options and also suggesting mechanisms for quickly moving forward. He said that this project needs an estimated Rs. 63,000 crore of investment and it is really a challenging task and the experts will have to work on a financial model which will be win–win situation for all stakeholders. While these high speed services are premium services but in the Indian context a model needs to be worked out which makes it more affordable to bulk of the customers so that the introduction of high speed rail system in India becomes truly inclusive, he added.

The Railway Minister hoped that the Seminar with the participation from national and international experts will yield useful recommendations and discuss all relevant issues and all options available on the subject of high speed train services especially in the Indian context. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal also inaugurated an exhibition organised by IREE on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Railways, Mr Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said that Indian Railway has undertaken a massive journey from the steam engine era to electric engine era and has introduced many modern technological developments in its operations. In view of growth in traffic and economy and the consequent demand for faster inter city travel, there is now need to introduce high-speed train services. In this context six corridors have so far been identified by Indian Railways for high-speed trains and the Government has now taken Mumbai-Ahemdabad high speed corridor in the first phase. Mr Chowdhury said that there could be more high-speed corridors in this vast country which may be identified and the 12th Plan has also included high-speed projects. He said that this Seminar will through up precious inputs in this field and yield significant results which will pave the way for implementing high-speed train services in India.

Chairman, Railway Board, Mr Vinay Mittal, said that from the beginning made by the Japanese with the Tokaido-Shinkansen High Speed Line, the development has come a long way with now 15 countries where High Speed trains of 300 kmph and more are running. Seven more countries are under advance stage of planning to introduce High Speed trains. Indian Railways have also identified some Corridors and commenced some pre-feasibility studies. Referring to the advantages of high-speed trains Mr Mittal said that the economic and social impacts of High Speed rail have been well documented world over. He pointed out that these trains have improved accessibility, resulted in substantial savings of time and thereby enhancing productivity, attracted new economic activities, resulted in better land use, reduction in accident rate and generating additional capacity for railway systems. There is now a need to develop an appropriate financial model which enhances the expansion of such trains in developing countries, Mr Mittal added.