Bullet train, if ever made, will be built by Congress: Rahul Gandhi

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said Wedneday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "bullet train" (project) should really be called a "magic train". 

He added that it will never be built. And if it is, it will be built by the Congress. 

"It should not be called a bullet train. It should be referred to as a magic train. It will never be constructed, if at all it is ever made it is going to be in Congress regime," ANI quoted Gandhi as saying. 

Rahul was speaking in the Gandhis' pocket borough of Amethi, where he is on a two-day visit. 

The bullet train project from Ahmedabad to Mumbai has come to be seen as a pet project of Prime Minister Modi. It is expected to cost Rs 1.1 lakh crore. A large portion of that will be loaned by Japan. 

But it has had fierce critics, including Rahul Gandhi who has said the project is anti-poor. His criticism was recently reiterated by the country's "Metro Man" E Sreedharan who built India's Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro. 

Sreedharan said the bullet train was would be too expensive for the common man. And that what India needs is a "clean, safe, and fast rail system".