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iven its focus on speed, the Indian Railways plans to issue expression of interest (EoI) for manufacturers to design and develop ultra high-speed rail technology in the country.
As part of ‘Make in India’ plan aimed to promote domestic manufacturing, the national carrier has widened the spectrum of manufacturers who will be attending a seminar in September to explore possibilities of transferring technology.
The national carrier aims to increase the average speed of the trains to ease congestion and attract traffic on the railways network, thereby increasing its freight and passenger revenues.
InfraCircle had on 3 June reported that the Indian Railways was planning to hold a seminar with Maglev train manufacturers in September this year.
Maglev stands for magnetic levitation, and is a transport system that uses magnetic levitation to suspend and propel vehicles with magnets without touching the ground.
However, the people’s carrier, which is focusing heavily on high-speed rail rolling stock, has now decided to invite high-speed train manufacturers such as Spanish Talgo, among others.
“The seminar is planned in the first week of September and it is meant for ultra high-speed rolling stock, which means Maglev and other similar options will be presented. What we are looking for is technologies that ensure speed beyond 400km per hour,” said a senior railway ministry official requesting anonymity.
Following the seminar, the EoI will be issued.
“We expect some new options will come and we’ll also come up with EoI. We want exposure to ultra high-speed technology followed by some pre-selection and then seek help in designing projects for trials,” added the official.
This comes at a time when the Indian Railways has also signed an agreement with Japan entailing an investment of Rs.97,636 crore to run a bullet train using Shinkansen technology. The train is likely to have a top speed of 320km per hour during its run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, and is expected to be operational by 2023.
The railways is also experimenting with the Spanish Talgo, which is currently under trials. The train clocked 180km per hour during the second phase of its trial. It has also held trials for push-pull mode of operating locomotive-hauled trains that allows trains to be driven from both ends as it has locomotives attached to the front as well as the rear of the train.
“It is about getting new technologies such as Maglev. A concept note has been made for Maglev,” said another railway ministry official who also did not want to be identified.
Of late, the railways has been losing traffic to roads and air routes. For FY2015-16, the railways earned a revenue of Rs.45,384 crore from passenger traffic against a target of Rs.50,175 crore. The target for the current financial year has been set at Rs.51,012 crore.
“We are not going to waste the opportunity and our intention is to use it and try to define a place like the Indian Space Research Organisation has done in space technology. We want to do the same for ultra-high speed. For ultra-high speed, everybody (countries) today is at the starting line and we also want to get there. We are ultimately going to look for partners to work with us. We don’t just want to make in India but we want to design in India. We want an Indian brand of ultra high-speed train,” said the first official quoted above.
Queries emailed to a spokesperson of the ministry of railways on 15 July remained unanswered. Experts welcome the move to explore possibilities in ultra high-speed rolling stock.
“India should start looking into it. Higher speeds lead to economic development and so it is definitely a step in the right direction,” said transport economist G. Raghuram, who is also a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
The Indian Railways plans to invest Rs.8.5 trillion in the next five years with a total capital for infrastructure for the current financial year set at Rs.1.21 trillion.
iven its focus on speed, the Indian Railways plans to issue expression of interest (EoI) for manufacturers to design and develop ultra high-speed rail technology in the country.
As part of ‘Make in India’ plan aimed to promote domestic manufacturing, the national carrier has widened the spectrum of manufacturers who will be attending a seminar in September to explore possibilities of transferring technology.
The national carrier aims to increase the average speed of the trains to ease congestion and attract traffic on the railways network, thereby increasing its freight and passenger revenues.
InfraCircle had on 3 June reported that the Indian Railways was planning to hold a seminar with Maglev train manufacturers in September this year.
Maglev stands for magnetic levitation, and is a transport system that uses magnetic levitation to suspend and propel vehicles with magnets without touching the ground.
However, the people’s carrier, which is focusing heavily on high-speed rail rolling stock, has now decided to invite high-speed train manufacturers such as Spanish Talgo, among others.
“The seminar is planned in the first week of September and it is meant for ultra high-speed rolling stock, which means Maglev and other similar options will be presented. What we are looking for is technologies that ensure speed beyond 400km per hour,” said a senior railway ministry official requesting anonymity.
Following the seminar, the EoI will be issued.
“We expect some new options will come and we’ll also come up with EoI. We want exposure to ultra high-speed technology followed by some pre-selection and then seek help in designing projects for trials,” added the official.
This comes at a time when the Indian Railways has also signed an agreement with Japan entailing an investment of Rs.97,636 crore to run a bullet train using Shinkansen technology. The train is likely to have a top speed of 320km per hour during its run between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, and is expected to be operational by 2023.
The railways is also experimenting with the Spanish Talgo, which is currently under trials. The train clocked 180km per hour during the second phase of its trial. It has also held trials for push-pull mode of operating locomotive-hauled trains that allows trains to be driven from both ends as it has locomotives attached to the front as well as the rear of the train.
“It is about getting new technologies such as Maglev. A concept note has been made for Maglev,” said another railway ministry official who also did not want to be identified.
Of late, the railways has been losing traffic to roads and air routes. For FY2015-16, the railways earned a revenue of Rs.45,384 crore from passenger traffic against a target of Rs.50,175 crore. The target for the current financial year has been set at Rs.51,012 crore.
“We are not going to waste the opportunity and our intention is to use it and try to define a place like the Indian Space Research Organisation has done in space technology. We want to do the same for ultra-high speed. For ultra-high speed, everybody (countries) today is at the starting line and we also want to get there. We are ultimately going to look for partners to work with us. We don’t just want to make in India but we want to design in India. We want an Indian brand of ultra high-speed train,” said the first official quoted above.
Queries emailed to a spokesperson of the ministry of railways on 15 July remained unanswered. Experts welcome the move to explore possibilities in ultra high-speed rolling stock.
“India should start looking into it. Higher speeds lead to economic development and so it is definitely a step in the right direction,” said transport economist G. Raghuram, who is also a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
The Indian Railways plans to invest Rs.8.5 trillion in the next five years with a total capital for infrastructure for the current financial year set at Rs.1.21 trillion.
