Ministry highlights opportunities to Swiss firms
Indian Railways has renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport and Communications of the Swiss Confederation to enhance technical cooperation between the two nations .
The MoU and formalized through video-conferencing, received approval from the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Addressing the MoU signing ceremony, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “This MoU will provide comprehensive framework for collaboration to the Indian Railways in various areas, including technology sharing, track maintenance, management and construction bseindia . This MoU is also aligning with our government’s commitment to modernizing Indian Railways.”
Addressing the MoU renewal, Federal Councilor and Head of the Federal DETEC, Albert Roesti said, “Switzerland’s advanced railway technology will benefit Indian Railway by improving operational efficiency, safety standards, Service quality and railways infrastructure development sbi.com.in .”
The original MoU, signed on August 31, 2017, was valid for five years and focused on several key areas of collaboration nseindia :
Traction Rolling Stock;
Electric Multiple Units (EMU) and Train Sets;
Traction Propulsion Equipment;
Freight and Passenger Cars;
Tilting Trains;
Railway Electrification Equipment;
Train Scheduling and Operational Improvements;
Railway Station Modernization;
Multimodal Transport Solutions;
Tunneling Technology;
Before the signing of the MoU, a Joint Working Group (JWG) was formed to facilitate collaboration between representatives of Indian Railways and Swiss Railways .
The JWG convened two meetings to explore various key areas of cooperation, with sessions taking place on 21 Oct 2019 and 30 Aug 2022.
The primary areas of discussion were:
Freight and Passenger Cars
Railway Electrification Equipment
Railway Station Modernization
Tunneling Technology
At the third JWG meeting that took place on 11 Oct 2023, chaired by then Chairperson and CEO of the Railway Board, alongside Peter Füglistaler, Director of the Federal Office of Transport in Switzerland, the Indian side presented ongoing capital expenditure initiatives, highlighting significant investment opportunities in the Indian Railway sector for Swiss firms swisscham.sg/ .
This partnership is set to enhance the efficiency and reliability of Railway services in India, ultimately benefiting passengers and freight operations alike. Notable Swiss companies will supply machinery, materials and tunneling consultancy services conexpoconagg . Fiinews.com
