High-speed trains with French connection

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Railway ministry's ambitious plan of setting up a 500-km high speed rail corridor between Delhi-Amritsar got a decisive push, with the railway ministry and French National Railways (SNCF) having finalised an MoU for mutual cooperation in the rail sector.

According to railway ministry sources, a three-member team from SNCF had visited India in September 2007, and had submitted a proposal for conducting a feasibility study for Delhi-Amritsar route with the railway ministry.

Subsequently both the parties finalised the modalities of an agreement for mutual cooperation in the rail sector, and the final draft of the MoU was okayed by the Union Cabinet last week.

Though it was to be signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to India last week, ministry sources said that the agreement would now be signed at a later date, once it is decided whether Rail Bhawan officials would visit France or a team from SNCF would be coming here.

However, with the MoU now in place, SNCF is expected to get the clearance from the railway ministry to conduct the feasibility study on the said route. The railway ministry has plans to set up very high speed train corridors throughout the country, on which it intends to run trains at a speed of 300 km an hour.

Delhi-Amritsar had been shortlisted by railway ministry as the first route on which the corridor would be set up. Japan and France are world leaders in high speed train technology. While the Japanese are known for their superfast Bullet train technology, the French have high speed trains under their TGV brand.