Bullet Train Project Begins Today, Cost 1.1 Lakh Crores

Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will join PM Narendra Modi today to launch work on India's first bullet train in Gujarat's industrial city of Ahmedabad that is set to start operations by 2023. The 508 km high-speed rail link to Mumbai is seen as a centrepiece piece of PM Modi's efforts to demonstrate India's capability to build high-tech projects. The project, quite like the Delhi Metro, is also symbolic of New Delhi and Tokyo's close ties to combat China's growing regional influence.