Spanish, French, Chinese firms to study PM Modi’s Diamond Quadrilateral Bullet Train plan

New Delhi: The railway ministry has decided on the firms and consortia that will study the technical feasibility of three bullet train corridors- High Speed Rail in India- that comprise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Diamond Quadrilateral.

The Quadrilateral has been divided into three packages with the first package being the Mumbai-Delhi corridor, the second one being the Mumbai-Chennai and the third package being the Delhi -Kolkata package.

The Mumbai-Delhi corridor will be studied by a consortium comprising the China-based Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation along with the Lahmeyer International (India). The Mumbai-Chennai package will be studied by Systra of France, RITES of the Indian Railways and Ernst and Young LLP.

The Delhi-Kolkata corridor will be helmed by Spain’s INECO, TYPSA and Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats.

The fourth corridor, not mentioned in this announcement is the Delhi-Chennai corridor which is being studied by a group of Chinese firms. This deal was sealed when the Chinesepresident XI Jinping had visited India in September last year.

Anil Saxena, chief spokesperson at the railway ministry said, “The Delhi-Chennai corridor is further divided into packets. The first is the Delhi-Nagpur packet and the second is the Nagpur-Chennai packet. Preparatory work on all the High Speed Rail corridors are moving quickly.”