New Delhi: While the buzz around India’s Bullet Train continues, central government has already started planning another high-speed rail project. As per Union railway minister, Piyush Goyal, the studies on social and environmental impact are almost near completion.
Goyal who was attending the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) annual meeting shared with the media. He even stated the issue of land acquisition for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train has been resolved. With this issue now resolved, the central government is mulling with the idea of starting on another high-speed rail project.
With this news, it is certain that many other regions will get the benefit of high-speed travel. The bullet train facility will not only be restricted to Mumbai-Ahmedabad. There will be other regions that will experience the joy of travelling in a fast moving train.
Goyal who is happy with the progress of environment and social studies, said that the outcome of the reports will be known soon. The studies are nearing completion.
When asked to name the region where the study is being conducted, Goyal remained tight-lipped. He did not name the corridor but it is likely that the financing will come from AIB for the next high speed rail project in the country.
Goyal also cleared the air surrounding land acquisition for infrastructure project. The union minister assured that the government was not facing any issues from landowners across the country for infrastructure projects.
He added that the compensation has been increased fourfold for other infrastructure projects and fivefold for the high-speed rail project.
Currently Japan International Cooperation Agency is annual funding for the first high-speed rail project. The international agency has also agreed to increase the funding from $3 billion to $5 billion.
During the three-day AID Meeting that was held by Union Minister of railway, several representatives of multilateral banks were present. Many banking firms have shown interest in funding upcoming bullet train projects.
