NEW DELHI: In a scathing critique of the India-Japan High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, Hideki Makihara, Japan’s former Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, has publicly accused India of stalling the project. Taking to the social media platform X, the former minister did not mince his words regarding the bilateral negotiations and accused the Indian side of ‘recklessness’ and termed the Indian minister ‘awful’.
The Allegations: ‘Sheer Recklessness’
Hideki Makihara said that he was involved with the bullet train project but was unimpressed by Indian negotiations. “The Shinkansen project in India is something I was involved with myself, but what stood out in international meetings and negotiations was the sheer recklessness of the Indian side, repeated over and over,” Makihara wrote. “They just don’t keep promises, no matter what. Even if they make a promise, they flip it right away. They keep pushing their own self-interest right up to the very end,” he said.
He further targeted Indian leadership, adding, “The minister in charge was especially awful—if the top guy’s like that, there’s no way to have any decent dealings. For the honor of all the Japanese folks who poured their hearts into this, I have to say it: I feel 100% that the reason this hasn’t moved forward is entirely on the Indian side.”
Makihara also pointed to the exclusion of Japanese technology from the signalling system—the critical safety backbone of any rail network—as evidence of the project’s failure.
Beyond the Rhetoric: The Signalling Dispute
While Makihara’s comments highlight deep diplomatic friction, the core of the disagreement lies in a fundamental clash over technology. The tension stems from India’s decision to move away from the proprietary Japanese DS-ATC (Digital Communication-Assisted Automatic Train Control) signalling standard in favour of the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2.
According to reports, the Japanese system is effectively a ‘closed black box’. Its adoption would have tethered India exclusively to Japanese conglomerates, such as Hitachi and Kawasaki, for the entire lifecycle of the network. Under such an arrangement, India would have been trapped in a ‘maintenance monopoly’, unable to perform independent repairs or seek third-party support for software patches and hardware upgrades, leaving the nation subject to proprietary pricing.
The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, is currently in an advanced stage of construction, with approximately 80% of the project reportedly completed. It will go under phased commissioning, with the first passenger services on the Surat-Bilimora section scheduled to commence on August 15, 2027. Following this launch, additional stretches, including Vapi-Surat, Vapi-Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad-Thane, and finally the full Ahmedabad-Mumbai route, are expected to open progressively.
