Indian Railways ties up technology with Japan, Russia

The ministry of railways has signed memorandums for technological cooperation with counterparts in Japan and Russia and some other countries, the union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was informed on Wednesday.

The ministry of railways signed a memorandum with Japan's ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism (MLIT), Japan, on 11 December 2015, for technological cooperation in rail sector.

The ministry also signed a memorandum with Russian joint stock company Russian Railways on technical cooperation on 24 December 2015.

Also, Indian Railways' Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) signed an agreement with Japan's Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) on technological cooperation in railway sector on 11 December 2015.

Besides, the Railways has signed agreements for cooperation and MoUs on technical cooperation with various foreign governments and national railways for high speed corridors, speeding up existing routes, development of world class stations, heavy haul operations, modernisation of rail infrastructure, etc.

These MoUs and MoCs help Railways exchange information on developments in areas of railways technology, operations, knowledge sharing, technical visits, training and seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest.

The Memorandum of Cooperation between Indian Railways and MLIT of Japan will enable technical cooperation in areas like railway safety, rolling stock (including train sets/EMU), information sharing for station development and land value capture, information sharing for environment friendly sanitation technology in trams, signaling and telecommunication, railway electrification, civil structure and railway track system, train control system, mitigation of natural disasters and any other areas jointly determined by both sides.

This MoC is valid for a period of three years. Thereafter it will be automatically renewed for further period of two years.

The MoU signed between the ministry of railways and Russian Railways provides for technical cooperation in the areas of high speed rail (HSR) in India, modernisation of existing lines of the Indian railways in order to raise train speeds up to 160-200 kmph, modern control and safety related systems based on satellite navigation and digital communication means, satellite and geo- information technologies, transportation safety and cyber security, rolling stock, heavy haul transportation, organisation of human resources training for the Indian Railways - secondary and higher vocational education of students and advanced training of staff members including managers, station redevelopment, dedicated freight rail corridors, modernisation, reconstruction and construction of track superstructure, civil engineering works, including bridges and tunnels; and slab tracks.

This MoU is valid for three years. Thereafter, it will be automatically renewed for further successive period of two years.

The MoU signed between RDSO and RTRI, Japan provides for technical cooperation in the areas of safety in train operation, advanced techniques of maintenance, use of environment friendly technologies, throughput enhancement measures and any other area jointly agreed upon by the parties.

The MoU is valid for a period of three years and it may be renewed for further period of one year at a time with mutual written agreement.