MEA rejects ex-Japanese minister's criticism of bullet train project
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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday rejected former Japanese minister Hideki Makihara's criticism of delays in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, calling his remarks a "personal opinion" that was "at considerable variance with facts."
Makihara had alleged on X that India's "sheer recklessness" and failure to honour commitments had stalled the project. He also claimed Japan had been excluded from supplying the signalling system.
Rejecting the allegations, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said discussions between India and Japan were progressing well.
He said Japan would provide E10 series trains only in the early 2030s as they were still under development. Meanwhile, construction had advanced rapidly and both sides agreed to begin operations in 2027 with India's indigenously developed high-speed trains.
Jaiswal also clarified that the signalling equipment was procured through international specifications and that "no Japanese offer was received" for the signalling system.
The Railways plans to start operations on the first 50-km Surat-Bilimora section of the 508-km corridor in 2027 using the indigenous B28 bullet train being developed by BEML. Japanese trainsets will be introduced later.