CHENNAI: Bullet train between Chennai and Bangalore could become a reality only after a feasibility study clears it, according to Shinya Fuji, director general of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO). Fuji told reporters here on Tuesday on the sidelines of seminar on ‘Innovative Technologies in Environment and Clean Energy’ that both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments had approached Japan for a bullet train project between Chennai and Bangalore.
“The project is still at the discussion stage. Once the feasibility study is conducted during the next financial year, it would be possible to know then whether bullet train is feasible or not,” he added.
Fuji said the focus of Japan was more on developing the Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor besides a high-speed freight train from Ennore to Bangalore. “The feasibility study is being conducted on both these projects by April this year,” he said. He also said that Hitachi was still in race for offering monorail technology to Tamil Nadu. “They have bid for the tenders,” he said.
Earlier, Hitachi’s Yoshitaka Hirabaya, whose company developed Tokyo monorail in 1960, had expressed interest to develop the city’s monorail and said that Japan’s technology was proven and used for public purposes.
He said a nine-member Japanese business delegation had come to Chennai for a business dialogue while highlighting the importance of Tamil Nadu capital to Japanese businessmen. He said while some of the companies already had a presence in India, some were scouting for partners in Chennai.
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