Yes - it's a difficult question but I lean towards a Yes.
I feel the Indian Government needs to focus on building new cities. It needs move more Tier-2 (Classified as Y) cities to Tier-1 (X) classification by investing and allocating adequate resources in them. The migration towards urban societies should not be just limited to Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata (& the other Tier-1/Classified as 'X' Cities). We need to start thinking more about organic growth rather than quick economic growth.
But, these developments do not have to work in sequence. The basics should run parallel with developments like the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor. This rail corridor is one of the busiest routes in the country and has the potential to connect the capital in addition to Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
As the project takes shape and the smaller cities develop between Mumbai and Ahmadabad, the migration of people towards urban environments would be distributed (hopefully, reducing the impact on already over-burdened Mumbai)
The proposed train route is through the densest cities/towns in Maharashtra and Gujarat. This will also ease the burden on the current railways. Obtaining tickets on the exisiting Shatabdi (and other trains) for frequent business travelers is often difficult in terms of seat availability. The Shinkansen-styled line would improve this situation.
As per estimates, the number of passengers using the train line is predicted to be around 200,000/day by 2050. Roughly a ten fold increase from the 2020 estimate.
This is certainly a big step in Indian Infrastructure, and definitely a good one. There are several major hurdles to implement this project. Mumbai is extremely crowded/dense, building a high speed rail line in between the city will require large-scale restructuring and other city-design initiatives. However, if they are executed swiftly and efficiently, it will be a tremendous achievement in India's bright future.
For a moment just Imagine Delhi without Metro. Do you think that Delhi's even-odd formula to curb pollution have worked despite Metro? In fact, if there was no Delhi Metro, govt would have banned all private vehicles. We might have been asked to use cycle instead of cars or even bikes.
Though at beginning this wan't an easy ride for govt to bring subway system of west into "poor India". In 1995 then PM PVN Rao and Delhi CM ML Khurana conceived the Idea of Rapid Rail system in Delhi. Many people then questioned govt motive and priorities. They accused govt of ignoring poor masses and working for elites. This is why project was in cold basket until PM Atal Bihari Vajpeyee decided to run it in 1998. E. Sreedharan (Metro Man) was given responsibility.
Again many protested, questioned and raised doubt against this project. Here I've found one such "The Hindu" article (Delhi Metro: Gliding over controversies) questioning viability of "Tube System" in India:
1. How "poor India" will afford to finance "Subway System" of "rich west"?
2. Who will provide spare parts and Technologies?
3. Why should we focus on "Quality of Service"?
You know eventually Delhi Metro have answered all such Questions. Now a days we don't see such questions instead people are demanding more Metro Coaches and more no of Lines for city.
But think what if then PM ABV had not seen the future and kept it in cold. What if E. Sreedharan compromised on QoS? Fate of Delhi metro would have same as Kolkata Metro.
Currently we have Rapid Transit system in other cities too like Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow and Jaipur (Sorry, If I missed any.). In fact every city with population of 2 million and more planning to have it's own metro service.
Here is some of the few details about project which can answer some doubts on Bullet Trains.
1. Who will fund this project?
Obviously GoI but Japan Has extended Loan of 1 lakh Crore to be paid at 0.1% Interest rate over the period of 50 years. So on yearly basis govt have to pay 2000cr+ 2 crore as interest. Can we afford this amount? Yes, we can.
(Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train estimated project cost Rs 98,000 crore | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis )
2. Who will provide technology and is India ready to handle High Speed trains?
Japanese govt will provide all technologies related to this project. it will be based on Shinkansen which is known for it's reliability and safety. Project will take minimum 15 years.
On the issue of handling, remember we have reached to the mars, this should be a least technical concern.
3. Who will buy tickets?
We will. If price estimation is true then we have to pay only Rs. 2800 for one way trip from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. It's much cheaper than Flight service and slightly costlier than AC-II coaches. Also flights can only carry 100 people at one trip while Bullet trains in Japan carries 1500 people.
Remember a true leader is who Learn from Past, Work for Present and Think about future.
*Source: https://www.quora.com
