Retired civil engineer Elattuvalappil Sreedharan, who led the construction of the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, told the Hindustan Times in an interview published on Sunday that the country needs a modern, safe and fast railway system, and not bullet trains, which will cater only to the elites.

“Bullet trains will cater only to the elite community,” Sreedharan said. “It is highly expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people.”

The retired engineer, who has been tasked with standardising metro services in the country, said Indian Railways has not made progress apart from implementing bio-toilets. “Speed has not increased,” Sreedharan pointed out. “In fact, the average speed of most prestigious trains has come down. Punctuality is worst – officially 70%, actually less than 50%.”

He added that the Railways’ accident record has not improved. “Many also die on tracks, at level-crossings, in suburban sections,” Sreedharan told the newspaper. “Almost 20,000 lives are lost on tracks yearly. I feel Indian Railways is 20 years behind those of advanced nations.”

A Right to Information query last year revealed that more than 40% of train seats go vacant on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, where the Centre is investing Rs 1 lakh crore for India’s first bullet train. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in Ahmedabad in September along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Centre has taken a loan of Rs 88,000 crore from Japan for the project, which is expected to be completed in 10 years.