Reasons why India can't build a long high-speed railway line like China

New Delhi, Dec 27: China has opened the world's longest high-speed rail route, the latest milestone in the country's rapid and super fast rail network. The new 2,298-kilometre (1,425-mile) line between Beijing and Guangzhou will halve the time required from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China. In terms of timing, it will now take only 8 hours as against 22 hours previously required.Trains on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300 kph (186 mph) and will have 35 stops in major cities such as Zhengzhou, Wuhan on the Yangtze River and Changsha. More than 150 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the new line every day, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Railways said.In recent years, following the opening of the first high-speed rail system from Beijing to Tianjin in 2008, China has undertaken a series of major steps to improve its extensive rail network for high-speed service, which critics say is at the expense of safety. In a span of less of 15 years, China has built the longest high-speed rail network on earth, of approximately 9,676 km, of which 3,515 km can top speeds of 300 km. In addition, the Red Dragon has been converting its decades-old railway lines to accommodate high-speed trains.Train travel is of high importance for the evolving Chinese middle class as it is a cheap and easy source of commuting through different parts of the country."High-speed railways are needed for national development, for the people and for regional communication. Many countries have boosted their economies by developing high-speed rail. We have also developed a full range of effective measures to manage safet," said Zhou Li, head of the ministry's science and technology department, told reporters during a test run on the track.The country is hopeful of building an entire grid of high-speed railways which will include four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020. This will in turn give a major boost to China's flagging economy — absorbing huge investments, generating a constant demand for resources and raw materials, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs, and stimulating economic activity by bringing goods, services and people into greater proximity.So here's the question for the Indian railway ministry: why haven't India thought of one? Given the growing costs of airplane fares and bankruptcy of a major airline, such a high speed mode of transport seems to make sense. It is of no doubt that high speed bullet trains offer an ideal answer to the cost-speed balance need in transport between major urban cities. For supporters, the word high speed trains conjure visions of trains hurtling across the four metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) at over 200 miles per hour, bypassing congested highways and long airport lines alike. Understandably, such a bold, capital-intensive endeavor would involve a lot of complexities and a high gestation period, but if such an ambitious plan can turned into a reality, then instead of clunking in grimy, packed trains delayed by fog, the people in the country and tourists can expect a rather different experience."We are planning for the future. The pace of growth of the economy means high-speed trains will be a requirement. Not immediately perhaps but certainly in a few years," Indian Railways' spokesman, Anil Saxena had said. In this context, critics may say that India should be concentrating on walking before it can run. Already the so-called fast trains, like the Rajdhani Express, run at speeds lesser than 53mph, which certainly means that a lot has to be done by the authorities. Let's take a look at why it is so difficult for India to emulate a project which its neighbour has already delivered. Huge costs are involvedRailway experts say India has lagged behind in high-speed rail because it is expensive to build suitable tracks and purchase the trains. According to an estimate, it will cost about Rs 100-150 crore to construct one km of elevated high-speed rail corridor.Poor state of railway tracksDespite having one of the largest networks on earth at 1,14,500 km, most of the lines require serious maintenance and upgradation. India's 108,700km (67,543 miles) of tracks are in a pretty bad shape and requires regular improvements, thus leaving little or scope for high-speed trains.Safety concerns Over the recent period, China's high-speed rail link has faced some high-profile problems: part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains in March, while a bullet train crash in the summer of 2011 killed 40 people. There will be similar safety concerns on Indian soil too. The Indian railways needs at least Rs.10 lakh crore to enhance its safety measures.Operational costsA senior board member pleading anonymity argues,” If we can run a high quality train at the cost of Rs 60-70 crore, including the locomotive cost, how are we going for the high-speed trains which are 10 times more expensive? He further argues that the total cost earned from passenger fare per train will not even be enough to pay the interest of the loan required to buy these trains. Other general issuesThere are also scores of infrastructure related issues– including desperately needed roads, power stations, canals, sewage plants and bridges – across India.