India is getting an eye-wateringly big transport upgrade
Overhauling the country’s roads and railways will make it richer and much better-connected
A sense of wonder filled the carriage as the Vande Bharat Express raced through the flatlands of Uttar Pradesh, bound from Varanasi to Delhi, at 130kph (81mph). That is a shade faster than the Northeast Regional ferries passengers between New York and Washington—and, by Indian locomotive standards, revolutionary. The train covers its 759km route 130 minutes faster than the next-quickest service. “It’s so much more comfortable!” says M. Afzal, 42, a cloth dealer from Varanasi heading to Kanpur, an intermediate stop. “But the main thing is the saving of time.”
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Putting wheels on the elephant”
From the March 18th 2023 edition
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