Economic Internal Rate of Return from Bullet train estimated to be 11.8%: Railway Minister

The Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) of the Bullet train project was estimated to be 11.8 per cent, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha on Friday citing the feasibility study conducted by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Railway Minister was responding to questions raised by TMC MP Jawhar Sircar who wanted to know the total revised estimated cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train along with the dates for completion of different sections and the progress against each deadline.

According to experts, the EIRR is calculated after taking into consideration the benefits accrued to the society in terms of time saving, increase in productivity, reduction in road accidents, decrease in carbon emissions among several others aspects.

"It means the overall advantage to the society in terms of direct financial benefits as well as indirect positive outcomes. The return was estimated to be 11.8 per cent over the period of 30 years based on the estimated project capital cost and projected traffic," Achal Khare, Ex-MD, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), said.

Sircar also sought to know the date of operationalisation of bullet train and "whether the projected passenger traffic based on present traffic justify the cost and operational viability." "The sanctioned cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project is Rs 1,08,000 crore. Till now, 290.64 km of pier foundation, 267.48 km of pier construction, 150.97 km of girder casting and 119 km of girder launching have been completed," Vaishnaw said in a written reply.

He added, "The anticipated timeline and final cost can only be ascertained after award of all contract packages. The MAHSR project passes through high growth rate states of Gujarat and Maharashtra connecting business centres of Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad."