Chakradhar Aalla, whose design of a Cheetah (right) on a loco will be the calling card of the ambitious bullet train project of the government, has hit the bull’s eye after 30 unsuccessful attempts in various logo competitions. (Press Trust of India)

A logo by a 27-year-old student of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, comprising the outline of a cheetah on an engine, was named as the winner of a competition for designing the logo of the high- speed bullet train, Oct. 25.

Chakradhar Aalla a second year post-graduate student of graphic design had designed the logo as part of the competition announced in April this year.

The announcement was made Oct. 25, in New Delhi.

According to Aalla, the cheetah represented speed and reliability.

He won the prize after a three-member screening committee headed by painter and architect Satish Gujral, a Niti Aayog member, and an official from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is in-charge of the project chose his entry from around 100 entries.

Rail officials said Aalla’s design would henceforth have a place of pride on all official documents concerning the bullet train.

The government had set a deadline of August 15, 2022 for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail network to mark India’s 75th year of Independence.

The train was expected to cover a distance of over 500 km between the two cities in less than three hours.

The project was launched last month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Ahmedabad. Japan is financing 81 percent of the Rs 1.08 lakh crore project at 0.1% interest to be repaid over 50 years.