The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 15th February, 2016 between India and Sweden on Technical Cooperation in the Railway Sector.
The MoU will enable technical cooperation in the following areas:-
1. Benchmark railways policy development, regulations, organization and specific characteristics for each country.
2. Exchange of knowledge, technical expertise, innovation, technology, sustainable solutions and research.
3. Other cooperation projects agreed between the participants, such as, freight operations in cold regions, tilting coaches/trains, capacity allocation (time tabling) and optimisation of maintenance and improved freight/combination traffic.
4. Training and continuing education program in reliability and maintenance of rail transport system for railway engineers and managers.
Background:
Ministry of Railways has signed MOUs for technical cooperation in the Railway sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways. The identified areas of cooperation include high speed corridors, speed raising of existing routes, development of world class stations, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure, etc. The cooperation is achieved through exchange of information on developments in areas of railways technology & operations, knowledge sharing, technical visits, training and seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest.
The MoUs provide a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector. The MoUs facilitate exchange of technical experts, reports and technical documents, training and seminars/workshops focusing on specific technology areas and other interactions for knowledge sharing.