Modi government’s bullet train dreams: French companies evince keen interest
Mumbai: A day after the Centre announced plans to introduce a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and to allow foreign direct investment into the railways sector, a number of French companies have come forward to participate in the project.
The government had unveiled these plans in the Railway Budget, 2014-15 presented in Parliament yesterday.
Some of the French firms which have evinced interest in the proposed high-speed rail project include SNCF, Alstom and Veolia.
"We have participated in the construction of the Delhi Metro and are doing consultancy for the ongoing Mumbai and Bangaluru metro projects," French mobility and logistics major SNCF Senior Vice President Philippe Lorand told PTI on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday.
"We would also like to participate in the high-speed train project too, if given an opportunity," he added.
Lorand is a part of a 28-member French business delegation, which visited Mumbai to explore business and investment opportunities in India.
The company is present in the country through its four subsidiaries namely AERP, Geodis, Keolis and Systra.
After completing the renovation of the CST railway station in Mumbai, SNCF is now looking at investing in the renovation of other railway stations in the country like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Amritsar, he said.
Alstom Transport's representative also said that it would like to enhance its presence in the country by participating in more railway projects.
At present, the company has a presence in infra and services projects such as Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore metro railway projects.
"We would like to become partners in the modernisation of Indian railways and bring it to international standards," Alstom India Transport Managing Director Bharat Salhotra said.
Bullet trains, which will entail an investment of ~Rs. 60,000 crore, will be funded via innovative financial models
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 8, 2014Rail Budget aspires for better service, speed & safety. It is an effort to create a modern Railways contributing towards a developed India.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2014