 "Railways to ride $140 bn investment plan for safety, modernisation and passenger amenities")
“There is an unprecedented focus on modernisation 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 would reduce dependence on gross budgetary support (GBS) from the Centre.
Speaking at the 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.
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Kumar also said through the participation of investors in the conference, the ministry was 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 the Railways so that the ministry does not have to spend time on inspection and rejection of material. He also said the ministry was 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.”