Indian Railways Provide Technical Assistance to Neighbouring Countries

Indian Railways through its Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have been taking up projects, technical studies, capacity building etc. in neighbouring countries including Butan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh with funding through Line of Credit (LoC).

            Projects undertaken by M/s RITES with neighbouring countries include:-

Bhutan:- 5 Feasibility Studies.

Nepal:- Preliminary-Engineering-cum-Traffic Surveys, 1 Preconstruction Survey and 1 Feasibility Study.

Myanmar:- 1 Feasibility Study.

Sri Lanka:- Construction of sheds and buildings for DMU maintenance.

Bangladesh:- New Coach Manufacturing Unit.

            Projects undertaken by M/s IRCON with neighbouring countries include:-

Bangladesh:- Construction of 2^nd Bhairab Railway Bridge with Approach Rail Lines and construction of Akhaura-Agartal rail link.

Nepal:- Construction of rail link between Jogbani (in Bihar) to Biratnagar (in Nepal) and construction of rail link between Jayanagar-Bijalpra (Gauge Conversion) with extension to Bardibas.

Sri Lanka:- Reconstruction of Madu Road to Talai Manar railway line, reconstruction of Omanthal to Pallai railay line, reconstruction of Pallai toKankesanthurai railway line and design, supply, installation, testing & commissioning of signalling & Telecommunication system for railway line.

            For Trans-Asia Railway, Government of India has signed Inter-governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railway in the year 2007. The Agreement defines and lists the railway lines of international importance including the missing links and lays down the guiding principles relating to technical characteristics for providing seamless transport on the Trans-Asian Railway Network.

            This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.