Indian Railways, European Union agree to work on gains made by seminar

Shri Goyal further pointed out that Indian Railways is looking for investment but would like the same to come without tied conditions.

A delegation led by Ms. Violeta Bulc, Commissioner, Mobility & Transport in European Union met Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal and Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav, today at Rail Bhawan. During the meeting, Ms. Violeta Bulc while appreciating the gains made by the interaction between Indian Railways and European Union in last two years advocated for a more proactive approach especially towards developing a long term Indian Railways – European Union partnership with a focus on digitization, green transport, European Union -Asia rail links and shared innovations.

Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal thanked the Commissioner and her delegation for the excellent discussions and emphasized that Indian Railways is making rapid strides with focus on large infrastructure projects and intends to focus on 'Make in India' for new products and technologies from European Union so as to create investment & employment opportunities for Indian people. Shri Goyal further pointed out that Indian Railways is looking for investment but would like the same to come without tied conditions. Both sides agreed to work on the gains made by the seminar held between Indian Railways & European Union and further develop the relationship for more tangible gains in the future.

The India-European Union Seminar on Common Rail Issues was held yesterday between Indian Railways and a high-level delegation of European Union's Mobility & Transport Division, Standardization Division and other Experts with focus on Railway Reforms and Regulations, Railway Safety and Technology (Signaling, including ERTMS), Procurement & Standardization and Digitization and Innovation. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav while inaugurating the seminar highlighted Indian Railways' impetus on infrastructure works in view of capacity constraints being faced by Indian Railways. Shri Yadav stressed the need for continuous cooperation between India and the European Union in the above areas of mutual interest.

The European Union delegation was led by Ms. Elizabeth Werner, Director of Land Transport in the European Union Mobility & Transport Division. The Indian delegation was led by Mr. R N Singh, Principal Executive Director/Infrastructure in Ministry of Railways. During the meeting, presentations were made by the both European Union and Indian sides and future areas for further cooperation were deliberated.

(With Inputs from PIB)