Apropos the edit “Off the tracks” (February 7), cost-cutting by curtailment of “populist” projects will definitely help the Indian Railways (IR) tide over the short-term funding gap, but sustainable revenue streams require ideation, discovery and implementation of new projects for the long haul. IR would do well to shift attention from the already clogged Indo-Gangetic belt to developing high-speed train services that directly compete with increasingly expensive air transportation.
Japan's experience with high-speed train technology, along with its experience of funding the implementation of the Delhi Metro, makes it a logical partner in modernising and speeding up the railways archaic infrastructure. IR might be successful in getting soft loans under Japan's Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) programme at lower yields than the government's offer of an 8.5 per cent loan.
Sudipta Das Kolkata
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