The Hindu Business Line : India to join Trans-Asian rail link

New Delhi, March 8 India has decided to join the Trans Asian Railway (TAR) Network, which envisages connecting a rail network of 81,000 kilometres across Asia and Eastern Europe.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the proposal of Indian Railways to sign the intergovernmental agreement of TAR, Mr P.R. Dasmunshi, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, said here. This would allow the Railways to build rail link connecting India with Myanmar, and in turn be a part of the proposed TAR, as envisaged by the UN.

The agreement would help formalise the coordinated development of TAR, and improve trade and tourism among Asian countries.

Improving ties

The work for construction of the rail link is likely to be undertaken by the North East Frontier Railway. The rail lines of various countries that are part of the TAR serve the network's primary objective to promote international trade (particularly containers) and provide access to capital cities; main industrial and agricultural centres; major air, sea and river ports; and major container terminals and depots.

TAR envisages four major corridors — 32,500 km of rail link across China, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and the Korean Peninsula; 12,600 km of lines in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; 22,600 km in Bangladesh, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey; and 13,200 km of lines in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, according to the UN.

As on date, 18 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have already signed the agreement.

The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, which is a step ahead towards operationalising the network with the Governments agreeing on various parameters, was signed on November 10, 2006, during the Ministerial Conference on Transport. It is expected to come into force during 2007.