‘India entering high-speed era’ 

The first Railway Budget of the Narendra Modi Government presented by Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda seems to have succeeded in sending the right signals to the private players.

Speaking to  Business Line , Harsh Dhingra, Chief Country Representative, Bombardier Transportation India, says technology innovation and passenger comfort will get a boost with increased private participation through PPP and FDI. Edited excerpts:

How do you see the first Railway Budget of the new Government?

The Budget speech by the Minister was interesting. The announcements and focus given to infrastructure development shows the direction the new regime will take over the next four-five years. The Government should now focus on completing existing projects rather than announcing new ones, which is a positive thing. This shows the Government’s focus on stabilising the Railways.

The Government is mulling over FDI in areas such as infrastructure. What is your take on it?

The announcement on high-speed trains and opening up of foreign investment for infrastructure is a good move. At least a beginning has been made. FDI in infrastructure would mean capacity augmentation in the field of cars, locomotives, track laying and rolling-stock, among others. Companies from Europe and Japan are already here in India. They will bring newer technology and encourage local component makers to opt for R&D.

What will be the immediate effect of the Railway Budget announcements?

India will see high-speed trains that would run at 160-200 km per hour. India is now entering the high-speed era. Also, with specific focus on public-private partnership (PPP) in infrastructure, passenger comfort will improve and technology innovation will take place.

What are the areas that need more private sector participation?

Mega rail projects require a high level of technology and investments. These projects would prove to be significant for the country as a whole with technology injection an enabler to economic growth. Private participation will mainly happen in infrastructure such as manufacturing of rolling-stock and signalling solutions.

What would this Budget mean to companies such as Bombardier in India?

The Government is keen on private participation in the Railways. The demand for rolling-stock, high speed loco and Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) for inter-city transport will rise. This will create a win-win situation for private players and Indian Railways. Bombardier is one of the major suppliers of high-speed trains and after the Government’s announcement of high-speed routes, we are prepared to make the required investment as and when such projects come up.

At Bombardier, what will be the focus area for the current fiscal?

Currently, Bombardier is executing an export order from Australia for metro rail cars manufactured at its Savli unit near Vadodara. We are also planning to participate in bidding for metro and monorail car projects in the domestic market. We have recently bid for the monorail project in Kerala. For metro rail car projects, we will participate in bidding for the Delhi Metro extension project beside Bangalore Metro, Ahmedabad Metro and Mumbai Monorail.

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