Lalu Prasad has a date with Japan's Bullet Train

Calcutta News.Net
Tuesday 13th January, 2009 (IANS)

Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is on a seven-day visit to Japan, Tuesday took a ride on the Bullet Train in Tokyo to get a first hand experience of what the Japanese call Shinkansen high-speed trains.

The minister along with Railway board Chairman K.C. Jena and other senior officials took the train from Tokyo to Kyoto and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, said a senior official at the Rail Bhavan here.

'The minister's travel in the bullet train was not just for the joyride. He wanted to get a first hand feel of the Bullet Train and see for himself if similar trains can be deployed in India. It was an important part of his Japan visit,' the official said.

'He is already examining the possibility of introducing high-speed trains in India and has invited global tenders for pre-feasibility study for a high-speed train corridor on the Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar route,' he said.

'The minister is meeting the technical team of the Bullet Train to discuss the technical and economical feasibility of introducing bullet trains in India.'

The Shinkansen, which literally means new trunk line in the local language, ferried Lalu Prasad at a speed of about 300 km per hour and took a little over two hours to cover the distance of 520 kilometre between the two stations, officials said.

The minister's visit to Japan is primarily aimed at seeking investment for the dedicated freight corridor as also to understand the working of the state-of-art disaster management systems.

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