Cabinet approves India, Germany agreement for cooperation in railway sector

The Union Cabinet on March 25, 2020 approved the Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) signed between India and Germany for technological cooperation in Railway Sector. The cabinet was chaired by PM Narendra Modi

The India and Germany agreement was signed In February 2020 between the Ministry of Railways and Germany’s DB Engineering and Consulting GMBH.

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The India-Germany agreement for technological cooperation in the Railway Sector will enable cooperation in the following areas:

1. Freight operations: This includes cross-border transport, logistics and automotive transport. 

2. Passenger operations: This includes high-speed, cross-border traffic

3. Infrastructure building and management: This includes dedicated freight corridors and development of passenger stations.

4. Development of modern/competitive railway organization: This includes the improvement of organizational structures and railway reformation.

5. Railway IT solutions: This includes IT  solutions  for  railway operations, marketing  and  sales  and administrative purposes,

6. Predictive Maintenance

7. Private train operations

8. Other mutually agreed upon areas 

Background 

The Ministry of Railways has signed various agreements, administrative arrangements, cooperation agreements, joint declarations of intent for technical cooperation in the rail sector with many nations to identify areas of cooperation including high-speed rail, development of world-class stations, speed raising of existing routes, modernisation of rail infrastructure and for heavy haul operations.