…to form firm for roping in foreign players

Technological advancement being one of the main focuses of Indian Railways in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, in his Rail Budget on Monday, is expected to announce the creation of a dedicated company to rope in international players to manufacture rolling stocks in the country through PPP routes.

Lalu wants to pave the way for international players like Bombardier, Alstom and Siemens (for electric loco manufacturing plant) and General Electric (GE) and Electro-Motive Division (EMD) (for diesel loco manufacturing plant) to enter into joint-ventures with Indian Railways through this new company. The J-V partners will, however, be selected through a global tendering process. This new company of the Railways will also explore partnerships for the new Rail Coach Factory at Rae Bareli and the Rail Wheel Factory at Chhapra.

“Our primary job is to run trains. By having international players with us, we would be able to focus more on our core activity while also getting access to international best practices,” a senior Railway official said. “Railways would like to hold only a 26 per cent stake in these joint-ventures as and when they materialise,” he added.