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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015.Japan poised to win India bullet train deal: Nikkei
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nakanoguy01
this is highly doubtful. india's per capita income is about 1,250 USD. who is going to be riding in these trains to make them profitable? i have a funny feeling the japanese taxpayers are going to be the ones footing this bill.
nath
If I recall correctly, the number of Indians who are middle class now exceeds the population of the US. Their per-capita income may be small, but there are a lot of people in that country.
turbotsat
http://www.seat61.com/India.htm#book%20-%20when%20in%20India
http://www.seat61.com/India.htm#classes
The second link is about the ticket classes. AC2 = two-tier air-conditioned bunks, AC3 = three-tier.
Abhimish
The bon-homie of Mr.Abe & Mr.Modi is definitely working.
igloobuyer
Déjà vu Indonesia and US deals.
SenseNotSoCommon
Does the author have shares in the project consortium?
Doo-Bop
I can't get rid of an image that's in my mind of a bullet train zooming by with hundreds of people on the roof, hanging on for dear life!
lostrune2
India and China still have long-standing issues. India won't let itself be dependent on China.
BNlightened
Japan poised to win India bullet train deal: Nikkei
They had better win, because we all remember what a truly terrible temper tantrum Japan can throw when they lose! Isn't that right, Indonesia?
serendipitous
Wait till those Chinese trains in Indonesia start having accidents or other issues. Japan's shinkansen system may be expensive but it is by far the safest and most reliable system in the world. India would be smart to go through with this deal.
tinawatanabe
Indonesia and US are China's friends India is not.
Cliffy
I have that image also.
jeff198527
Didn't Indonesia cancel the deals with both China and Japan. I'm American, but I'll be the first to admit that America is too broke to afford any kind of train system. Congrats to India and Japan, though
5SpeedRacer5
Although I am plenty skeptical for different reasons, this idea that "India is too poor" is ludicrous. Let's all take off our first world blinders and remember that the way to do public works is DURING development. If a society waits too long, it just becomes too difficult and too expensive to make things work. And "America is too broke" misses the point entirely. America is too rich. Rich enough to afford lawyers and lobbyists for all kinds of interests to block any route that might be proposed. Keystone pipeline? Same thing. Wind generation in Massachusetts? Same thing.
Think I am joking? You could sooner build a subway under a city in Pakistan than you could under London. Do you think that is in spite of London's parking fees, or because of it? Rich people implies expensive real estate implies NIMBY implies "build your subway someplace else."
Let's not forget that Japan produced its excellent system in 1965, and expanded it incrementally thereafter. Japan was hardly a "rich" nation then, and yet there seemed to be plenty of money for tickets. And there always has been. And it has been immensely profitable for generations now. India might be so lucky if it does not wait too long.
nakanoguy01
obviously you, and three other readers, don't understand that being middle class in india doesn't equate to being middle class in america. if you per capita income is only 1,300 USD, that means being middle class would be 10-15,000 USD. That would hardly make the train lines profitable in a reasonable amount of time. abe is spending our dime to make big japanese corporations richer.
nath
Where did I claim otherwise?
What being iddle class does equate to is having extra money to spend - and therefore more to spend on trains. Even if only a small percentage of the middle class in India an afford to take the train, a small percentage in India is more than the population of most countries.
Show us some numbers if you want to prove it won't work.