A friendly gesture between two countries is literally ‘cementing’ their relationship. India’s decision to use its railway line with Pakistan to import cement is bringing in rich results. In April this year, 45,000 tonne of the commodity was brought into the country from Pakistan by the railways. And in May this trade is expected to shoot up to about 60,000 tonne. ?In the first 20 days of May, we have already transported about 40,000 tonne of cement from Pakistan,? a Rail Bhawan official told FE. Based on requests from the commerce ministry, Indian Railways, which began movement of the commodity from Pakistan in October last year, has in recent months stepped up train operations to increase domestic supply of the commodity. Cement shortage in India has been one of the main reasons behind the climbing inflation. Cement coming from Pakistan by train into India is estimated to be cheaper by around Rs 50 per bag. India plans to import at least 7 million tonne of cement in 2008-09 from Pakistan. This is a huge jump from the 2.4 mt of cement it imported from across the border last fiscal. India and Pakistan were earlier running about 12 to 13 trains a month, which is now over 25 trains a month. ?We have also begun round the clock working at the railways goods shed in Amritsar,? the official said. The railways have also begun improving the infrastructure at the terminal to facilitate faster unloading of cement. Meanwhile, more staff has also been deployed at the customs department, which too is working round the clock for faster movement. To help increase the trade and reduce pressure on the existing railway lines, the two countries are also planning to start new routes along the Indian border at Hussainiwala and Sadiq. At present, Attari-Lahore rail route is used for freight movement. With the increased focus, cement has now become the main commodity being imported from Pakistan through the railways. Earlier, rail trade between the two countries comprised mainly of red chilly, cotton and herbs. Meanwhile, to increase supply of cement within the country, the Indian government has also asked its Pakistani counterpart to allow more export of the commodity. In fact, in a recent non-paper to the Pakistan government, India has favoured hiking the availability of railway wagons on the Punjab border and more ship containers on the Mumbai Karachi route.