India is getting a bullet train, but not just any bullet train.
If all goes according to plan, the train will shave a sizable chunk off the time it takes to go from Mumbai and Ahmadabad while also making a portion of the journey underwater between Thane and Virar.
The Economic Times (h/t Mashable) reports officials are preparing the initial stages of what would be the country's first bullet train-infrastructure that would turn a seven-hour commute into a two-hour jaunt-but something of this epic undertaking mandates more than gumption. Money and the right kind of soil are of particular import.
Thankfully, the Japanese government will foot a reported 80 percent of the estimated $14.5 billion bill.
As for the soil, that is what will soon be tested prior to a tunnel being burrowed on a portion of the planned rail.
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The Economic Times cites a senior Railway Ministry official who explained: "Soil and rocks below the 70-metre-deep see are being tested as part of the geo-technical and geo-physical investigation undertaken for the entire project. The test will also cover the 21-km-long underground tunnel between Thane and Virar."
The project will get underway next year and will complete by 2023. At that time, locals and tourists will be whisked through the country at about 350 km per hour (or about 217 mph).
As Mashable notes, Japan's involvement is perhaps a way to curtail some of the extensive Chinese infrastructure projects that have taken place in the region.
For India, the project represents a massive push to modernize its railway with a line that will embolden travelers from near and far.
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