The Hindu Business Line : UK firms keen to partner Indian cos for Rly projects

Kolkata, April 22 The UK companies in the railway sector would be interested in joining hands with their counterparts in India to bid for various railway projects in India, including the proposed dedicated freight corridors, according to Mr Tim Gray, International Business Development Director of the London-based Railway Industry Association, the trade association for the UK’s railway supply industry.

Keen on alliance

Talking to newspersons on the sidelines of an interactive meeting organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here on Tuesday with the visiting Railway delegation from the UK, Mr Gray indicated the areas where the members of his association would be interested in forging alliance and these included, among others, design and construction of the railway systems, signalling and telecommunication, management techniques and data processing, passenger interface information and supplying measuring equipment for train performance.

Earlier, in his presentation, he pointed out how the privatisation of the British Rail, which started in 1994 and took two to three years to complete, boosted the performance of the railway system in the UK, as was evident from the jump in passenger and freight earnings and steep fall in accidents.

Delegation visit

The UK Minister for Railways, Mr Tom Harris, Mr Gray said, would lead a delegation of 12 firms from Britain to meet the Railway Minister for State, Mr R. Velu, on Wednesday.

Also, a report on the UK Rail Sector – Business Excellence in Sustainable Development, would be released on Friday at a seminar to be held in New Delhi.

Explaining how Railways could contribute to sustainable development, Mr Bob Docherty,, Railways International Business Specialist, UK Trade & Investment, said the UK experience showed that it should be possible to provide innovative rail solutions to supporting innovation, master planning, development of infrastructure, greener energy efficient transportation system, safety and security and proper management and maintenance of assets.