Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train gets cheetah-inspired logo; NID student's design emerges as top pick

A logo with the outline of a cheetah inside a locomotive engine has emerged as the top choice for the ambitious Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train, media reports said. [caption id=“attachment_4171403” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Logo of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train. Twitter@nhsrcl[/caption] The Indian Express reported that the logo which was designed by a student of the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad was presented in a contest. A three-member screening committee headed by renowned painter and architect Satish Gujral selected the logo, a senior railways official told the Indian Express. The committee also included members from Niti Aayog and the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). Sources told the paper that the cheetah was chosen as it represents speed. The logo has blue and red lines, which also “symbolise calm and reliability.” After the initial screening, three entries were shortlisted — top one was selected from NID, Ahmedabad while the other two were from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, and  NID in Bengaluru, according to the report. The logo which was created for the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), a joint venture between the Centre and state government for implementing high speed rail projects, is now available on its official website. The train, which has a capacity to accommodate 750 people , is expected to reduce travel time between the Ahmedabad and Mumbai from seven hours to three hours. It is scheduled to start operations from 15 August, 2022. As of now, the project cost is estimated at Rs 1,08,000 crore, 81 percent of which is being borne by Japanese soft loan at 0.1 percent per annum.