(a) the details of the number of delegations comprising railway officials gone abroad in connection with study and training relating to high speed rail technology and operations during the last five years;
(b) the outcome of these tours along with the tour notes presented in connection with the visit, if any, visit-wise; and
(c) the fresh steps taken by the Government to speed up execution of pending projects relating to high speed, electrification and doubling of railway lines?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)
(a) and (b): The training programme for young railway officers in Japan for High Speed Rail Technology was started in the year 2017 with Japan International Co-operation Agency’s assistance. During the year 2017-18, 287 officers were trained in 08 batches. All the 08 batches have provided feedback on their training in Japan. In general, the officers have been highly satisfied with the training and exposure given in the course of the training in Japan. Besides, the programme for
young officers, four senior officers of Railway Board and Research, Designs and Standards Organisation(RDSO) have also attended separate training programme in Japan. Ministry of Railways also had deputed a batch of 40 officers to Southwest Jiaotong University, China for training in 2017 which covered high speed training. Based on the feedback from officers, the University has been asked to improve the curriculum and training schedule before further batches are considered for training.
(c): A number of high level Committees including a Joint Committee co-chaired by Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Special Adviser to Prime Minister of Japan at the apex level have been constituted to monitor the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project. The project is targeted for completion in the year 2022/23.
Steps taken to expedite electrification of railway lines in the country include award of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts, better project monitoring mechanism, delegation of powers to field units for award of contracts and sanction of estimates. Besides, the number of executing agencies has been enlarged from existing three to six by entrusting electrification works to new agencies such as IRCON International, Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL).
For Doubling/Line capacity enhancement projects, last mile connectivity etc., institutional financing has been arranged by tying up loan from M/s Life Insurance Corporation of India Limited for ? 1.5 lakh crore, which has increased Railways’ capacity for committed fund provision for essential projects.
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