India-Japan High-Speed Rail Project Faces New Controversy
A former Japanese official has criticized India's involvement in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project, citing unfulfilled promises. India's Ministry of External Affairs has called the remarks "personal" and "seriously inconsistent with facts."
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project, a collaboration between Japan and India, has become mired in renewed controversy. Hideki Makihara, a former Japanese minister of justice and parliamentary vice-minister of economy, trade and industry, publicly accused India on July 15 of causing project delays and breaking promises, alleging attempts to sideline Japanese involvement.
Makihara, who claimed personal involvement in the project, described "repeated absurd and unreasonable actions" by Indian counterparts during international meetings and negotiations. He asserted that India was "unreliable" and 100% responsible for delays and stated that the initial plan to use Japanese Shinkansen technology for trains and signaling systems was being jeopardized. Japanese media reports suggest India is adopting a European signaling system incompatible with Japanese trains, diminishing the prospect of Japanese technology integration.
The 508-kilometer high-speed rail line, connecting India's financial hub Mumbai with Ahmedabad in Gujarat, began construction in 2017. It was originally slated for operation in 2023 but has faced significant delays due to issues like land acquisition. Under a 2015 agreement, Japan provided a low-interest loan covering 81% of the project's estimated cost of approximately 976.3 billion Indian rupees (around $11.7 billion USD) and pledged Shinkansen technology.
The dispute has intensified over the signaling system tender. India's mandatory requirement for the European ETCS-L2 standard excluded Japan's proprietary DS-ATC system, with a Siemens-led consortium securing a 41.4 billion rupee ($497 million USD) contract. India announced that only a 50km test section would open by August 2027, prioritizing domestically manufactured trains, pushing the introduction of Japanese E10 trains to post-2030.
In response, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that Makihara's comments were "personal" and "seriously inconsistent with facts." He affirmed that communication between India and Japan on the project is progressing smoothly and that the adoption of European standards aligns with national procurement laws. Jaiswal added that signal equipment was procured per international standards and that Japanese proposals were not received. He noted an agreement to initially use Indian-made trains as the Japanese E10 model is still under development.