According to a new report from the railways of India, we would be inducting bullet trains into the fleet of the already present trains for the first time.

Our railways has been plagued by poor management issues, corruption in the ticketing counters, and countless accidents and yet the officials considered bullet trains are a necessity to the nation which apparently doesn't even have the proper infrastructure to run the trains at the moment.

The unhygienic conditions of the general coaches and the platforms in most stations of the nation is not a secret hidden to the world. Instead of working on the most essential problems of the railway sector, we plan to lavishly induct six of the fastest trains in the world, which are currently being run by the Japanese, French and Germans. These trains are of reaching speeds of up to 325 kilometres (202 miles) per hour. However, in India they would run only at a fraction of their speed.

"Such projects have a long gestation period, but one has to start somewhere," a newspaper quoted an anonymous official as saying in its report headlined: "Soon: Bullet trains for tortoise tracks".

Currently the fastest train in India is the Bhopal Shatabdi, running from Delhi to Bhopal and back at a top speed of 93 miles per hour, 150 Kmph for those who fancy metric units.

Railways are the most preferred mode of journeys in the nation despite the dilapidated conditions. Several million passengers take the trains everyday. Several thousand cargo trains move goods between states everyday.

An official report revealed that almost 15,000 people are killed each year in train accidents at the railway crossings. Derailments, collisions and other accidents are also fairly common. With such a pathetic and notorious record, do we need bullet trains or developments for the existing trains, routes and stations?

(AW- Anil)