The Indian Railways will get assistance from its counterpart in China for semi-high speed corridors, which allow trains to run at a speed of up to 200 km per hour. Upgrading technical skills and station redevelopment projects are two other areas wherein the two countries will collaborate. A comprehensive agreement is going to be signed between the two countries Thursday.
Of the eight semi-high speed corridors, meant to upgrade train speed between 160-200 km per hour, one will be handed over to China to conduct technical studies, sources said. The study will be funded by China, which will tell Railways how to upgrade speed with minimum infrastructure intervention.
With increasing prospects of foreign collaboration and the policy on FDI in railway sector finally liberalised, Railways has set up a committee of six joint secretary-level officers to bring out an action plan by the end of this month. The deadline has been set by the Prime Minister?s Office. The strategy will include roadshows, investors? meets and other areas to attract FDI.
?The Delhi-Agra semi-high speed project was relatively simple because much of the work on that was already at an advanced stage. But for the other eight corridors of semi-high speed, we need more investment and technical analysis,? said a senior Railway Board official. The Delhi-Agra line will be launched in November.
To upgrade skills, a team of railway officers will travel to China to learn about setting up a Railway university. For station upgrades, Railways is exploring the possibility of a joint venture. The other major area of collaboration is going to be heavy haul freight movement.
As far as infusion of Chinese funds into the Railways is concerned, the problem faced by the two sides is that unlike Japan, China does not have an instrument for funding through loans. To address this, a Chinese delegation Wednesday met the Railway Board for over two hours.