One reason for the delays was of course strong opposition to the idea of a high-speed railway system in India because it’s prohibitively expensive, and the government can ill-afford to invest in such a system.

Also, with the financial situation of Indian Railways not being in the pink of health, these arguments did strike a chord, and made many people wonder whether India could really afford high-speed trains.

Apart from the cost, the, critics also claimed that the funds could be better spent on maintaining existing rail lines or developing other priority railway infrastructure projects.

Not to mention other issues like cost recovery, willingness of passengers to pay a higher price for faster trains, etc.

Skeptics, however, do tend to forget that many countries have taken on the challenge of developing high-speed rail, and are now quite satisfied with the outcome.

For example, the Shinkansen is a symbol of national pride for Japan.