Japanese Engineer Questions India's Signalling Choice for Bullet Train

Hideki Makihara, a Japanese engineer formerly involved with India's Bullet Train project, criticized India's reported adoption of European Train Control System Level-2 (ETCS-L2) instead of Japan's DS-ATC signalling for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor.

Makihara argued that two different signalling systems cannot operate simultaneously on the same high-speed rail line, and the decision could impact the project and future Japan-India railway cooperation.

The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) floated a tender in January 2025 specifying ETCS-L2 as the signalling standard, which Makihara said deviates from the 2015 India-Japan cooperation agreement.

Makihara also questioned India's plan to use domestically manufactured trains by BEML, noting the company lacks high-speed train experience and may rely on European suppliers, potentially creating compatibility issues with depots designed for Japan's E5 Shinkansen trains.

Makihara alleged that Japan had proposed supplying two Shinkansen trainsets free of cost for testing and training, but the proposal was not acted upon; his remarks have not been officially responded to by authorities.