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NEW DELHI: Govt defended its high-speed rail cooperation with Japan, dismissing the statement of a former Japanese minister blaming India for the lack of progress in the ongoing work on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai ‘bullet train’ project.Describing the comments by former justice minister Hideki Makihara, who accused Indian authorities of not keeping their promises, as the opinion of an individual that was “at considerable variance with facts”, MEA said discussions with Japan on the project had progressed well.Diplomatic sources clarified that Makihara wasn’t speaking for Japan as he is neither a part of the Japanese govt nor involved with the project.The remarks by Makihara – who said he was involved with the project – followed the India-Japan summit that saw PM Sanae Takaichi and PM Narendra Modi reaffirming the importance of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail as a flagship project between the two countries, with Takaichi saying Japan fully understood India’s target to commence commercial operations on priority sections in 2027.The original deadline for the project, which was affected by delays in land acquisition, was 2023. “Japan will provide E10 series trains, but only in the early 2030s. The train in question is still under development. Meanwhile, construction work has rapidly progressed. The first section will be opened in 2027 itself. Therefore, both sides agreed to start the operations with the Indian high-speed train,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.”The signalling equipment has been ordered accordingly and is in line with international specifications. No Japanese offer was received in this context,” added Jaiswal, denying Makihara’s claim that Japan had been excluded from the procurement of the “key to safety” signalling system.Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the first operation of the bullet train on the Surat to Bilimora section of the corridor in August 2027.
