Chidambaram says bullet train like demonetisation, will kill everything in its path

Congress leader and former union finance minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday said the bullet train will be like demonetisation and 'will kill everything else, including safety.'

Chidambaram's statement came a day after a stampede at Mumbai's Elphinstone Railway Station claimed the lives of 22 people and injured 39 others.

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram said, "Bullet train will be like demonetisation. It will kill everything else, including safety.

He further said the railways should focus on ensuring passenger safety and putting in place better infrastructure, rather than on ambitious and inflationary projects like the bullet train.

"Railways should spend on safety, better infrastructure and better facilities. Not on bullet train," he added.

He said the bullet train is not for ordinary people and has to be seen as an ego trip for the high and mighty.

Earlier, other political parties, including the Shiv Sena questioned the Centre's bullet train project and asked them to focus on railways, where every other day train derailment are being reported.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for the proposed Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Rail Network, also known as the bullet train.

On the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route, a total of 12 stations have been proposed, including Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.

The proposed bullet train will have a capacity to carry 750 passengers and is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from seven to three hours.

According to railway ministry officials, the operating speed of the bullet train will be 320 kilometers per hour and the maximum speed will be 350 kilometers per hour.

With this, India has become the first to import the iconic 'Shinkansen' bullet-train technology after Taiwan. The Japanese Government has also agreed to fund the project at minimal interest rates.