Japanese Consortium to Study Proposed Indian Rail Project

A Japanese consortium led by Japan International Consultants for Transportation, in which 10 railway companies have invested, has won an order for a feasibility study of a high-speed railroad planned for India.

For around 600 million yen ($5.73 million), the order is to study a 500km railroad that would link India’s largest city, Mumbai, with the western industrial city of Ahmedabad. The consortium will send around 30 people to India to study the project through July 2015, including such work as projecting demand, estimating operating expenses and formulating basic plans.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s Ministry of Railways in October to conduct the study. Japanese entities have now been asked to study three of the seven high-speed railways proposed for India.

Winning the bid to study what would be the first high-speed railway built in India could lead to exports of Japan’s bullet train technology to the Asian nation.