Why India hasn’t developed high-speed bullet trains yet? Vande Bharat architect says, “We are busy..."

Sudhanshu Mani – the former General Manager of Integral Coach Factory (ICF) and the driving force behind the Vande Bharat train – has weighed in on why India has not been able to launch bullet trains as yet.

In an interview with Zee News, Mani said there is a lack of “committed leadership” in the country. He pointed out that there has been no technological advancements in the Indian Railways since the Vande Bharat trains were rolled out over six years ago.

“There is no dearth of talent in India. The ICF team designed and delivered the 180 kmph train (Vande Bharat) and it has been around for more than six years. We have not been able to make any technological improvement in that and are busy boasting about it. This will not do,” Mani said in the interview.

“We will have to improve step-wise and only then we can move forward. If we think that it’s a world-class train, then we are wrong. We made it and I am saying it’s near world-class, not yet world-class,” he added.

Mani also said that the functioning of the Indian Railway administration is “still very feudal.”

“There is a valley of hierarchy between the administrators and their staff. This is not good for a modern organization,” he stated.

The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high speed train of the Indain Railways, with a top speed of around 160 kmph – making it one of the fastest in India so far. It started running commercially in February 2019.