Plan to extend proposed Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai high-speed rail line to Vijayawada

Germany has agreed to consider the request by Indian Railway minister to extend the feasibility study of the proposed high-speed (300 kmph +) Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai rail corridor to Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh,  to link the important states of Southern India and boost regional development.

Visiting German federal minister of transport and digital infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt is reported to have agreed to the request of extending scope of the feasibility study, which is fully funded by German government.

The feasibility study of the rail corridor project is likely to start from January 2017.

The German transport minister is in India on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Suresh Prabhu. During talks with the two ministers, it was decided to extend cooperation between the Indian Railways and a German Railway company to several areas of in the rail sector.

Indian Railways and German Railways will also set up a working group on safety as part of the efforts to intensify cooperation in rail sector between two countries.

It was decided that a joint working group of Indian Railways and German Railways will be formed to work on safety in rail operations with a view to help in the ''Zero Accident Mission'' of Indian Railways.  The Working Group would look into the training, technology and processes for improving the safety. This working group on safety would be a deliverable on Inter-government consultations tentatively planned in Berlin in May 2017. The German minister also extended invite to Indian Railway officials to visit Germany to see their technology and safety systems.

The two sides held wide ranging discussions on many specific areas of mutual interest in rail sector. The areas include speed raising, capacity increase of passenger and goods transport lines, safety, energy efficient rail operations, education and training, high-speed rail, standards and norms and station development.

The German minister also offered cooperation in India's efforts to redevelop its railway stations in tune with the smart city programme.

The German side expressed willingness to undertake feasibility study on speed upgradation on the existing Indian Railway network. The two sides decided to discuss this issue further and finalise the railway corridor for this kind of study.

The two sides also agreed that Indian Railways and DB Engineering & Consultancy (wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn-DB, the German Railway) together will focus on the following areas of cooperation:

• Freight operations (including cross-border transport, automotive transport and logistics);
• Passenger operations (including high-speed and cross-border traffic);
• Infrastructure building and management (including dedicated freight corridors and development of passenger stations);
• Development of a modern, competitive railway organisation (including the improvement of organisational structures);
• IT solutions for railway operations, marketing and sales as well as administrative purposes; and
• Any other area which may be mutually agreed in writing between the two parties.

During the visit of German Chancellor to India, on 5 October 2015, Germany's federal ministry of transport and digital infrastructure of and India's ministry of railways had signed a joint declaration of intent (JDI) on the development of cooperation in the field of railways between the two countries  JDI has shown willingness to conduct a study on the feasibility of High Speed Rail in India.

Subsequently, in April 2016, minister for railways Suresh Prabhu visited Germany and signed a protocol with German federal minister of transport and digital infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt, to intensify cooperation in rail sector between two countries.