Modi, Abe lay foundation stone for India's first bullet train

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe Thursday laid the foundation stone for India's first bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

On the occasion, Abe said the Indo-Japan partnership is special, strategic and global.

"A strong India is in Japan's interest and a strong Japan is in India's interest," Abe said after laying the foundation stone of the project at a ground at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.

"My good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a far-sighted leader. He took a decision two years ago to bring high-speed train in India and to create a new India," he said.

"I hope to enjoy the beautiful scenery of India through the windows of the bullet train when I come back here in a few years," Abe said.

The Rs 1.10 lakh crore train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is expected to be completed by 2022. The train would cover the distance of over 500 km in around two hours.

Japan has extended a soft loan for the ambitious project conceptualised by Modi.

The project is a joint venture between Indian Railways and Japan's Shinkansen Technology.

The prime ministers of the two countries also laid the foundation stone for an institute that will come up at Vadodara where around 4,000 people will be trained for the bullet train project.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis were present on the occasion.