New Delhi: A logo designed by a student of the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, incorporating the outline of a cheetah on a locomotive engine, has emerged as the top choice for the ambitious Bullet Train project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for India’s first high-speed rail network project in Gujarat on Sept. 14. The first Bullet Train will run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.  

The logo was selected from a contest by a three-member Screening Committee headed by renowned painter and architect Satish Gujral, said a senior Railway official.

“The contest received an overwhelming response from across the country. The dates for submitting the applications were between April 19 and May 18, and around 100 entries were received by the Committee from various States,” the official said. “The cheetah represents speed, while the red and blue lines symbolise calm and reliability,” sources said.

The official said that apart from Gujral, the Screening Committee included a Niti Aayog Member and an official from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is in charge of the project. “Three entries were shortlisted after initial screening. The top entry was selected from NID, Ahmedabad, the second from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, and the third from the NID in Bengaluru,” said the official.

The government is keen to make the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail network operational on Aug. 15, 2022, to mark India’s 75th year of Independence. The train is expected to cover a distance of over 500 km between the two cities in less than three hours, with a ticket to cost around 1.2 per cent more than the basic AC first class fare, sources said.

Japan is financing 81 per cent of the Rs. 1.08 lakh crore project through the Japan International Cooperation Agency at 0.1 per cent interest to be repaid over 50 years.