There are other serious issues, bullet train a 'misplaced priority', says Congress

The main opposition party Congress on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for overlooking India’s other "serious issues" for the Bullet train project.

The reaction from Congress came minutes after PM Modi along with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone of India’s first ever bullet train project.

Terming the move as “misplaced priority”, Congress leader Anand Sharma said there are other serious issues on the agenda and bullet train is not India’s priority.

“Our prime minister should not limit it to the photo opportunity and theatrics. There are serious issues on the agenda. Prime Minister Modi has misplaced the priority. The bullet train is not India’s priority,” Anand Sharma told ANI.

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Reacting to this, Anand Sharma reminded Modi of India’s harsh realities and said the Prime Minister is only trying to impress Japanese premier.

“He is seeking to use this opportunity just to impress Shinzo Abe. This is the time to show the result as to where we are,” he said.

India has plans to run the bullet train on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route by 2022. Total 12 stations have been proposed including Surat and Vadodara.

According to the 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. The high-speed train will reduce Mumbai to Ahmedabad time from 8 hours to 2 hours.