Railways looking for cutting-edge technology.

The National Institute for Transforming India, NITI Aayog, has approved Rs.18,000 crore investment for high-speed rail projects for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata, Union Minister for Railways, Suresh Prabhu has told ASSOCHAM.

“We are working on Gatiman Express which is India’s fastest train at 180 km per hour and trying for Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata which are major routes with a maximum speed of 200 km per hour (kmph),” he said.

NITI Aayog has approved Rs.18,000 crore investment for the two projects, added Prabhu at the inauguration of an ASSOCHAM International Conference “RAILTECH 2017” in New Delhi on 21 July, 2017.

The Railways Ministry is working with many countries to increase the speed of operations, including France, he disclosed.

“There are a lot of advanced stage studies which we will start implementing in the next few months’ time,” the Minister said.

He added that the Government is aiming to introduce cutting-edge railway technology of future which will not only be imported but co-developed in India.

Automatic track laying machines, being used on Dedicated Freight Corridor, now on be tried on rail projects across the country. The track laying technology lays eight km per day of tracks, up from three km. The target is to lay 20 km per day of tracks in the next three years, he said.

The optimal technology cost has increased from Rs.30,000 crore a year to almost Rs.2,75,000 crore in the last 2.5 years, reflecting the government’s commitment to accelerate rail network development.

France’s transport giant Alstom is going to bring in the best cutting-edge technology, with least fuel consumption will be manufactured in India later this year, said Prabhu.

Another locomotive factory would be set up in West Bengal, added Prabhu, saying Siemens was among the global players with plans for the Indian market. fii-news.com