Hello Raymond, these are my points to support bullet trains:-
1) The fare in bullet trains to be introduced in 2023 is expected to be ₹2,800 one way (Source: click here While it would be unfair to compare this figure with today`s airfare. Lets calculate the future value of airfare. With rate@10% for 7 years, ₹1,500 translates to ₹4,500 which is more than train fare. So, bullet train will be need of the hour in 2023.
2) The travel duration will be 3 hours for bullet train & somewhat less for airplane. So,...
more... time isn`t of much advantage for air travel.
3) It is assumed that 40,000 people will travel in bullet trains in 2023. If we assume that Jet Airways, Indigo, Air India, etc all operate Airbus A380 which has a seating capacity of 800, we require 50 flights. At present, there are 20 flights between AMD & BOM with airplanes much smaller than A380. So, Airplane will never be able to replace Indian Railways.
4) There is no doubt that airfares will be subjected to exponential increase in fare while there will be incremental fare in train fares.
5) No one can ignore technological advancements & in years to come, there will be huge burden on IR to reduce its dependence on electricity & diesel. Fuel Cells are the future & it may be easily compatible with bullet trains in future.
6) The life of railway rolling stock is much high than life of airplanes, thus cash inflows will be better.
7) Many people tell that "Is a bullet train desirable when we don’t have enough toilets? ". I find this kind of argument distasteful. If this is the argument then I would argue that no one deserves to buy laptops or any other form of entertainment until all of India’s “basic” problems are solved – and that is a stupid line of debate.
With all due respect to my idol Mr. E Sreedharan, I am in no position to counter his opinion but with a optimistic thought in mind, I would like this project to continue in a same way Mr. Sreedharan made Delhi Metro possible despite the same criticisms by people who thought it will be a total flop.
Have a nice day.