Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to visit India to attend bullet-train project ceremony

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit India in September to attend the 'bhoomi poojan' and foundation stone laying ceremony of the Rs. 97,636-crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail link using Japanese bullet-train technology.

During the visit, Abe will also hold bilateral talks with his Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to serve as "top salesman" for the adoption of the Shinkansen technology by other Indian railway systems, with China also aiming to win orders for the projects, the Japan Times reported.

The 500-km railway will link Mumbai and Ahmedabad in western India, with services planned to commence in 2023. This train is based on Japanese high-speed technology called Shinkansen, known for its safety and comfort.

India has pledged to build high-speed railways focussed on the four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

When Modi went to Japan last November, he travelled by Shinkansen with Abe from Tokyo to Kobe to visit a bullet-train plant of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., a maker of Shinkansen cars.