India’s undersea bullet train project in the works

File photo

India remains as one of the most traffic-laden countries in the world, but its government is doing something to ease road congestion.

According to the Indian Times, preliminary preparations for the country’s first-ever bullet train have begun. The train will traverse a 7-kilometers undersea rail corridor that connects the business districts of Mumbai and Ahmadabad in western India.

Upon construction, passengers will have another mode of transportation and experience the thrill of riding underneath the sea at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The project, estimated to cost around $14.5 billion, is made possible through a loan by the Japanese government, which operates the similar Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka.

Eighty-one percent of the funding comes from Japan, which will cover the possible cost escalation, construction interests and import duties.

Although construction is scheduled to begin in 2018, officials from India’s railway ministry are already drilling in several locations to ensure the soil conditions under water.

“Soil and rocks below the 70-meter-deep sea are being tested as part of the geo-technical and geo-physical investigation undertaken for the entire project,” an unidentified senior officer for the ministry said.

Also, the agreement between the two countries was signed last year, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Japan, where he rode in the Shinkansen bullet train alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A separate Reuters report, meanwhile, suggested that Japan’s decision to virtually fund the program is part of its broader pushback in China’s involvement in infrastructure development in South Asia.

At present, commuters spend about seven hours to travel between the two metropolitan cities, and the bullet train seeks to cut travel time to just two hours.

The entire project is projected to be finished by 2023.  Khristian Ibarrola / RA