Railways to ride $140 bn investment plan for safety, modernization and passenger amenities

New Delhi: Rail minister Suresh Prabhu today said that his ministry is focusing on improving Indian Railways' modernization profile and safety performance apart from improving passenger amenities backed by a massive investment plan of $140 billion laid out in this year's rail budget.

"There is an unprecedented focus on modernization and safety aspects with the five year investment plan of $140 billion rolled out," Prabhu said, addressing a gathering of domestic and international investors during the eleventh International Railway Equipment Exhibition here. He added a large part of the investment would come in the form of institutional financing that will reduce dependence on Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) from the centre.

Speaking at the same event, Railway Board Chairman A K Mital and Member Mechanical Hemant Kumar said the ministry would soon take a decision on awarding the much awaited diesel and electric locomotive factories in Madhepura and Marhora in Bihar. "In case we are able to award the tenders in the current month, it would be a major achievement," Kumar said.

He also informed that through the participation of investors in the conference, the ministry is expecting cooperation from the industry on inducting new technology and materials on safety improvement, High Speed Rail, heavy-haul loading and distributed control systems for train operations.

Mital also urged the industry to work on a system of self-certification for providing material and equipment to Indian Railways so that the ministry does not have to spend time on inspection and rejection of material. He also said the ministry is trying to develop and deploy Train Protection Systems with the likely rollout of high speed services soon to cut down reliance on loco pilots for safety.

Junzo Yamamoto, Japanese minister for land, infrastructure transport and tourism, who was also present on the occasion, said the Japanese government is keen to engage proactively with the Indian Railways for implementing the High Speed Rail services. "A feasibility study prepared by Japan for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad stretch of high speed rail has already been submitted,"

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.