Rs 1.1 lakh cr to Rs 2.1 lakh cr: Why cost of 1st bullet train project has doubled

India’s first bullet train project has seen its cost escalate to nearly double of the original estimate in a span of nine years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the first high-speed rail project of Indian Railways in September 2017, and after missed deadlines due to the pandemic, the first bullet train is expected to be operational from the later half of 2027.But these nine years have led to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project’s cost rising sharply, and the Ministry of Railways is now looking at approvals for the revised cost.The bullet train project is also becoming a platform for India's own high-speed rail ambitions. BEML and ICF are developing India's first indigenous high-speed trainset, with the first expected to roll out in 2027.