A case for the Bullet Trains.

There has been a few echoes, from certain quarters, that the country needs no 'Bullet Trains'. It's easy to establish as to who the proponents are and I shan't waste my time doing so because it's immaterial and inconsequential as they're simply trying to score brownie points. What I have not been able to understand is the argument behind the suggestion or in other words, is there any substance at all, in the first place?

The sad tragedy of the loss of 27 lives at Bombay's Elphinstone Road Metro Station's foot over bridge, in a stampede, has been the latest triggering point for the naysayers. Raj Thackeray has gone one step further saying that it's the outsiders who've come into the state in search of work that have caused the accident. A bizarre reason, indeed! And what's the Congress party finding fault with?

Having been in power, at the center and in the states for over 60 years, it should have ensured its successive governments to institutionalise systematic maintenance of the railways' infrastructure as a matter of course. Instead, new trains were announced year after year during each railway budget with scant attention to the safety factor! Every railway minister made sure that the railways serviced his constituency to satisfy his vote banks.

So, I would like to sum up the reasons for the abhorrence of the Bullet Trains which are:-

    (a) It's a Modi initiative and therefore, it has to be opposed tooth and nail.
    (b) The existing infrastructure of the railways need renewal/overhauling. What the naysayers forget
          is that the lines used by the Bullet Trains will have to be be upgraded to facilitate higher speeds
          and increase efficiency
    (c) The running costs of the Bullet Trains are high which will translate into the fares being high
          and the facility cannot be afforded by the poor.
    (d) It will serve only a few corridors leaving the remainder of the existing rail network out of
          its purview.

The argument against will, necessarily, have to take into consideration certain opposing points that would not have a direct connection with the railways and here I go:-

     (a) In the '80s and the '90s, the then government was at a loss as to how to go about modernising
          the telecommunication system of the country. Was it by the repair by replacement system or by
          marrying the latest technology with the existing one, replacing the defective ones in a phased
          manner? That the second option was accepted is now history and it has worked well.
     (b)Why was air travel permitted to come in when everyone was aware of the fact that it could
          never be afforded by the poor? By the arguments that are being bandied about today against
          the Bullet Trains, the airline industry would have never taken off in India - the bitter fact is
          that a guy like P Chidambaram  is saying 'nay' to score brownie points!
     (c) Japan is assisting us in its implementation against a soft loan thanks to the personal rapport
          between the two Prime Ministers.
     (d) It's gonna generate job opportunities which is a significant factor.

So, let's have the Bullet trains please.



Tailpiece.

Am off to my parents' place early morning tomorrow. The caretaker had wanted me to survey the removal of the overgrowth of weeds, around the rubber saplings, over the last one week by 23 farm labourers. Will go from here by the early morning Fast Passenger train to Punalur and return by the Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur Intercity Express by midnight tomorrow. A long day indeed! Meanwhile, Lekha is gonna get work done here as Pushpaakaran, the farmhand has told me that he's coming in tomorrow for work.