Bullet Train

Hellsangel wrote:Comrade, you're beginning to sound like a jealous sister-in-law from a Chinese soap.

Hellsangel wrote:Comrade, it is a brilliant cartoon for those crying sour grapes on having lost out the deal - in other words your Chinese comrades.

There’s more: the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train cost is almost 4X the amount the Centre is going to invest in rail safety in 2015-16. Just a week ago, India saw two train accidents claim 14 lives and the Indian rail system is one of the most unsafe in the world. Yet, precious money is being diverted from safety to needless luxuries like a bullet train. In fact, shockingly, the bullet train budget is 2.4X the entire amount the government of India is going to spend on the Indian Railways in 2015-'16.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train budget is also 2.3X the entire spend of the Centre on schools. The corresponding figure for health and highways is 3.3 and 2.3, respectively.

There is an interesting contrast here with healthcare. Like bullet trains, the BJP manifesto had also promised a plan for universal healthcare. This is much needed. India’s healthcare system is shambolic and according to a World Health Organisation study, ranks 112th in the world (for context, eastern neighbour Bangladesh ranks in at 88, a good 24 places ahead). Yet, in March 2015, the Modi government decided to scrap plans for a universal healthcare scheme due to a “constraint on India's financial resources”. This plan, which could have changed India dramatically, had a budget which was just 25% more than the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train link.

The razzmatazz of a bullet train might help him politically but can Prime Minister Narendra Modi justify reducing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad commute by two hours as a more important public goal than rail safety, ending open defecation, schooling, building highways across the country or public health?

The news of high-speed bullet train is definitely a euphoric moment for international corporates, local contractors, and a small fraction of aspirational elites aspiring for luxury travel.

In contrast, the decision is a mockery of badly-needed reforms in social infrastructure, health, and education. Already, hope for improvement in sectors such as drinking water, sanitation, women and child development, and other social schemes suffered a hit due to BJP government’s decision to reduce spending on these sectors.

According to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, “Every developing county aspires high and continuous growth. India is the only country in the world which is trying to become a global economic power with an uneducated and unhealthy labor force.”

confuzzled dude wrote:

There’s more: the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train cost is almost 4X the amount the Centre is going to invest in rail safety in 2015-16. Just a week ago, India saw two train accidents claim 14 lives and the Indian rail system is one of the most unsafe in the world. Yet, precious money is being diverted from safety to needless luxuries like a bullet train. In fact, shockingly, the bullet train budget is 2.4X the entire amount the government of India is going to spend on the Indian Railways in 2015-'16.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train budget is also 2.3X the entire spend of the Centre on schools. The corresponding figure for health and highways is 3.3 and 2.3, respectively.

There is an interesting contrast here with healthcare. Like bullet trains, the BJP manifesto had also promised a plan for universal healthcare. This is much needed. India’s healthcare system is shambolic and according to a World Health Organisation study, ranks 112th in the world (for context, eastern neighbour Bangladesh ranks in at 88, a good 24 places ahead). Yet, in March 2015, the Modi government decided to scrap plans for a universal healthcare scheme due to a “constraint on India's financial resources”. This plan, which could have changed India dramatically, had a budget which was just 25% more than the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train link.

The razzmatazz of a bullet train might help him politically but can Prime Minister Narendra Modi justify reducing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad commute by two hours as a more important public goal than rail safety, ending open defecation, schooling, building highways across the country or public health?

http://scroll.in/article/775333/one-chart-that-shows-just-how-absurdly-wasteful-modis-mumbai-ahmedabad-bullet-train-line-is

confuzzled dude wrote:

There’s more: the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train cost is almost 4X the amount the Centre is going to invest in rail safety in 2015-16. Just a week ago, India saw two train accidents claim 14 lives and the Indian rail system is one of the most unsafe in the world. Yet, precious money is being diverted from safety to needless luxuries like a bullet train. In fact, shockingly, the bullet train budget is 2.4X the entire amount the government of India is going to spend on the Indian Railways in 2015-'16.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train budget is also 2.3X the entire spend of the Centre on schools. The corresponding figure for health and highways is 3.3 and 2.3, respectively.

There is an interesting contrast here with healthcare. Like bullet trains, the BJP manifesto had also promised a plan for universal healthcare. This is much needed. India’s healthcare system is shambolic and according to a World Health Organisation study, ranks 112th in the world (for context, eastern neighbour Bangladesh ranks in at 88, a good 24 places ahead). Yet, in March 2015, the Modi government decided to scrap plans for a universal healthcare scheme due to a “constraint on India's financial resources”. This plan, which could have changed India dramatically, had a budget which was just 25% more than the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train link.

The razzmatazz of a bullet train might help him politically but can Prime Minister Narendra Modi justify reducing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad commute by two hours as a more important public goal than rail safety, ending open defecation, schooling, building highways across the country or public health?

http://scroll.in/article/775333/one-chart-that-shows-just-how-absurdly-wasteful-modis-mumbai-ahmedabad-bullet-train-line-is

Veeu wrote:

confuzzled dude wrote:

There’s more: the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train cost is almost 4X the amount the Centre is going to invest in rail safety in 2015-16. Just a week ago, India saw two train accidents claim 14 lives and the Indian rail system is one of the most unsafe in the world. Yet, precious money is being diverted from safety to needless luxuries like a bullet train. In fact, shockingly, the bullet train budget is 2.4X the entire amount the government of India is going to spend on the Indian Railways in 2015-'16.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train budget is also 2.3X the entire spend of the Centre on schools. The corresponding figure for health and highways is 3.3 and 2.3, respectively.

There is an interesting contrast here with healthcare. Like bullet trains, the BJP manifesto had also promised a plan for universal healthcare. This is much needed. India’s healthcare system is shambolic and according to a World Health Organisation study, ranks 112th in the world (for context, eastern neighbour Bangladesh ranks in at 88, a good 24 places ahead). Yet, in March 2015, the Modi government decided to scrap plans for a universal healthcare scheme due to a “constraint on India's financial resources”. This plan, which could have changed India dramatically, had a budget which was just 25% more than the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train link.

The razzmatazz of a bullet train might help him politically but can Prime Minister Narendra Modi justify reducing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad commute by two hours as a more important public goal than rail safety, ending open defecation, schooling, building highways across the country or public health?

http://scroll.in/article/775333/one-chart-that-shows-just-how-absurdly-wasteful-modis-mumbai-ahmedabad-bullet-train-line-is

hmmm! very sneaky. comparing the total project cost over 10-15 years to annual expenditure on other stuff.