NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday defended its high-speed rail partnership with Japan, dismissing remarks by former Japanese justice minister Hideki Makihara blaming India for delays in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project as “factually incorrect” and not reflective of the Japanese government’s position.
Responding to Makihara’s comments that Indian authorities had failed to honour their commitments, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said his views were those of an individual and were “at considerable variance with facts”. It added that bilateral discussions on the flagship project had progressed smoothly.
Diplomatic sources also clarified that Makihara was neither a member of the Japanese government nor associated with the project, and therefore was not speaking on Japan’s behalf.
Makihara’s remarks came shortly after the India-Japan summit, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi reaffirmed the strategic importance of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. Takaichi said Japan fully supported India’s plan to begin commercial operations on priority sections of the corridor in 2027.
The project, originally scheduled for completion in 2023, was delayed largely due to land acquisition issues.
Addressing the controversy, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Japan would supply the next-generation E10 series Shinkansen trains only in the early 2030s, as the trainsets are still under development.
“Construction has progressed rapidly, and the first section will be operational in 2027. Both sides have therefore agreed to begin services using an Indian high-speed train,” Jaiswal said.
Rejecting Makihara’s allegation that Japan had been sidelined in the procurement of the signalling system — which he described as the “key to safety” — Jaiswal said the signalling equipment had already been ordered in accordance with international specifications and that “no Japanese offer was received in this context”.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that the first commercial operations on the Surat-Bilimora section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor are scheduled to begin in August 2027.
