By madmin 
As India is striving to boost the use of electric vehicles (EVs), a factor that might unexpectedly be the key to narrowing the gap in EV penetration rates is providing high-speed rail. A recent study covering 328 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2023 has discovered a clear correlation between the expansion of high-speed rail networks and EV adoption, which could be of great help to the Indian transportation system.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Fudan University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, revealed that the cities that were newly connected to China’s high-speed rail network experienced a substantial increase in the EV market share and the sales volume. This conclusion implies that an extensive and well-connected high-speed rail system can be a suitable complement to EVs, thus targeting the main obstacle to the adoption of EVs in India, i.e., range anxiety.
More than three-quarters of the cars sold in India last year were powered by internal combustion engines, while the EV market has only been able to capture less than 3% of the total number of cars sold in the country. The most important reason for the reluctance of Indian buyers has to do with the fact that the public charging infrastructure is not visible enough, with the country having only 25,000 charging stations that serve the country. This leads to a chicken and egg situation in which, by and large, low EV adoption rates do not provide companies with enough incentives to develop an expansive charging network.
The report on the potential advantages of utilizing high-speed rail and EV adoption, which came from China, serves as a new and different approach to this problem. High-speed rail would lead to reducing the need for charging stations on routes of over a hundred miles thanks to being an efficient mode of transportation for long distance travel, which can then serve as a lure for electric vehicle buyers for urban and short distance travel.
Nonetheless, India is up against an insurmountable obstacle in their attempt to emulate the Chinese success in constructing high-speed railways. The railways in the country are mostly the outdated remains of the colonial past, and the government had no investment for about fifty years. In current express services in India, the maximum average speed reach is 51 kilometers per hour, which is just a fraction of that of China’s high-speed rail, which can go as fast as 350 kilometers per hour.
But in the coming year, China’s network of high-speed trains will extend to 55413 kilometers which will mean $143 billion will have been poured into the project. By comparison, the first bullet train project in India, which is to connect Mumbai with Ahmedabad, has been postponed and is now expected to be up and running in 2026. This 508-kilometer line, being constructed with help from Japan, clearly typifies India’s struggles with the development of high-speed rail infrastructure.
Despite these challenges, investing in high-speed rail also provides advantages such as a more efficient EV adoption process. These benefits had been highlighted by previous research that showed a connection between high-speed trains in China and the global market opening for its producer. So, the dual effect of the project choices, such as improving both domestic transportation and international trade competitiveness, further argues the case of the high-speed rail development in India.
Up to now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, with respect to high-speed rail, has shown awareness, and it has pledged to build three more lines that will run through the east, north, and south of the nation. Nonetheless, there is no scheduled timeline for these efforts nor any evidence on the size of investment required for their success given the uncertainty surrounding the projects, therefore the implementation of these projects will need continuous political support and significant financial aid.
The near-term prospects of the Indian EV market might experience a positive impact from potential policy changes, such as a decrease in import duties on electric vehicles. Some latest analyses reveal that India under the pressure of the United States may cut the 110% import tariff on cars, which may in fact increase the competition in the market and allow the penetration of worldwide competitors like Tesla, Suzuki Motor Corp, and BYD Co.
Despite that, the regulations may contribute to the growth of EV trade up to the levels the USA and the EU have reached (10% to 25%). Nonetheless, in the case of China, the adoption of about 45% might require not only the enforcement of national railway building but also the money input into high-speed trains.
India is at the crossroads of advancing environmental stewardship in the transport sector, and the flexible relationship between high-speed train expansion and EV spread offers challenges as well as great chances. Policymakers have an opportunity to develop a more sustainable, efficient, and integrated transportation system from scratch, thus promoting the country’s economic growth and environmental objectives.
The next few years will be very momentous as they will tell if India can operate the high-speed rail and EV-inclined transportation system together, thus changing to a clean and environment-friendly mode of transportation. Pulling this off is not only going to alter India’s domestic transportation setting, but it is also going to have a strong influence on the global automotive and technology markets.