Ex-Japanese minister blames India for bullet train delays; govt says project on track

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project has come under fresh scrutiny after former Japanese Justice Minister Hideki Makihara blamed Indian officials for delays in implementing the ambitious high-speed rail corridor, alleging that repeated failures to honour commitments and self-interested negotiations slowed progress.

Makihara, in a post on social media platform X on July 15, said the lack of progress in India's flagship high-speed rail project was "entirely on the Indian side", and accused Indian officials of “sheer recklessness”. His remarks came in response to an opinion article by Japanese railway engineer Isao Tsujimura, who argued that the project had significantly diverged from the original Japanese Shinkansen model.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, India's first bullet train corridor, is being built with Japanese Shinkansen technology and financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The first operational section is expected to begin phased passenger services on August 15, 2027.

Sharp criticism of Indian negotiators

Makihara, who briefly served as Japan's Justice Minister in 2024, said his own experience of participating in discussions on the project matched Tsujimura's assessment, according to a report by India Today Digital.

He alleged that Indian officials repeatedly failed to keep promises made during negotiations and frequently changed their positions. According to him, negotiations were driven largely by India's own interests, making it difficult to reach mutually-satisfactory outcomes.

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The former minister also criticised the Indian minister overseeing the project, describing the leadership as a major obstacle to progress. He further claimed that even Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's visit to India earlier this month had failed to produce meaningful movement on the project.

However, there is no publicly available evidence confirming the extent of Makihara's direct involvement in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project.

Engineer questions 'deviation from Shinkansen model'

Makihara's comments followed an opinion piece by Isao Tsujimura, a senior Japanese railway engineer and Delhi-based metro vehicle consultant.

Although Tsujimura clarified that he has no official role in the project, he wrote that the corridor had moved away from the original Japanese vision of exporting the Shinkansen system to India.

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Recalling the project's groundbreaking ceremony in Ahmedabad in September 2017, Tsujimura said there had been tremendous enthusiasm in both countries. However, he claimed officials privately knew that the original target of commencing operations in 2023 was unrealistic.

India rejects concerns, highlights progress

Indian government sources, quoted by ANI, rejected suggestions of any strain in India-Japan cooperation, saying discussions on the high-speed rail project were progressing smoothly.

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According to the sources, both countries have agreed to commence operations using India's high-speed trainsets initially, while Japan is expected to provide its next-generation E10 series Shinkansen trains in the early 2030s after their development is completed.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected Makihara's claims on Friday (July 17).

"We have seen the post. This is an individual opinion and is at considerable variance with facts. India-Japan discussions on Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR are progressing well," Jaiswal said in a press briefing.

Construction gathers pace

Despite years of delays caused primarily by land acquisition issues and political developments, construction on the 508-km corridor has accelerated significantly in recent months.

The rail line will connect Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex with Ahmedabad through 12 stations across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Designed for speeds of up to 320 kmph, the corridor is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from around eight hours to about two hours.

The project has achieved major milestones across viaducts, tunnels, and station construction. India is also preparing to manufacture future high-speed trainsets domestically through the Integral Coach Factory and BEML, while continuing to receive Japanese technological support for the initial fleet.

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The latest progress has also reinforced India's long-term plans to expand high-speed rail connectivity to cities including Delhi, Varanasi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

While Makihara's remarks have highlighted possible differences over the evolution of the India-Japan infrastructure partnership, Indian authorities maintain that the project is advancing at its fastest pace since its launch and that bilateral cooperation remains firmly on course.