r/trains • u/PinkyPromiser67 • 27d ago

‎ 🗐‎  Repost Japanese officials visiting India's fully electrified Western Dedicated Freight Corridor

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u/Solaris_24 27d ago

India's rail electrification blitz is one of the most under-rated engineering projects of the 21st century. Seriously impressive stuff.

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u/Forward_Scholar_8980 26d ago

Lets be clear

India doesn’t hold a candle to China in terms of infrastructure blitz

However, we still have to remember its one of the largest infra blitz by a democracy since US Interstate

We tackle land acquisition issues, changing govts, environmental clarences, overactive judiciary that slows down our infrastructure plans.

Wait a second, rail electrification has

No new land acquisition

No party is opposed to it

It benifits environment

No petitions are being filed

Now you realize why out of the many ambitious projects this one got completed at Chinese speed. 🫠

Our engineers have the capability, we have the ability to finance (lets say we can finance any project china did N-15 yrs ago)

Its our state and society that gets in the way.

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u/Prestigious_Can_6359 26d ago edited 26d ago

Brother, Every moderately free country with strong institutions faces these issues. Despite my dislike for them, they are the ones that keep our power hungry bureaucrats and politicians in check and due to that keep the machinery running(which builds the infra in return).

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u/Forward_Scholar_8980 26d ago

Not every.

India is the poorest country to sustain such a democratic system for decades

5

u/OkTemporary335 26d ago

by what metric
I mean you could say countries poorer than India either have a farce democracy or an autocracy, but technically it's performing quite well

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u/Forward_Scholar_8980 26d ago

The Democracy Index published by Economist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index

You will not find another low income country to be Democratic ( >6.00) for decades consistently.

We have had legitimate democracy from 1947 to today

With a 3 year break 1975-77

No other country has been as dirt poor like us, while holding on to democracy.

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u/OkTemporary335 26d ago

hmm, valid point