Judging by the current political atmosphere and the pronouncements of politicians, India's plan to link Mumbai with Ahmedabad by a 505km high-speed corridor seems to be heading in the right direction. Yet this is in contrast with the reality of the situation where the pace of the project remains slow. The Japan International Cooperation Agency 0ica), which is currently summing up its final feasibility report of the project, has estimated a cost of Rs 988.05bn ($US 15.62bn) inclusive of price escalation and interest during construction, and a seven-year construction phase from 2017 to 2023 for what will be India's first high-speed project. A corresponding Japanese loan, with the precondition that 30% of equipment is purchased from Japanese firms, is available with an interest rate as low as 0.1%. But the Indian government remains tentative and undecided on whether to push ahead. This intransigence probably stems from the continuing dilemma within the Indian establishment concerning the project's scope and technicalities. For one, a huge battle continues to rage over gauge selection. One viewpoint refers to Russia's plan to build its first high-speed line with broad-gauge tracks and arguing that India should follow suit and build its high-speed line at 1600mm-gauge to ensure interoperability with the rest of the network. In contrast there is an argument to follow the example of Spain, where 300km/h lines use 1435mm-gauge tracks, necessitating gauge-changing equipment to access the broad-gauge network. For its part, Jica has recommended building a standard-gauge network.
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