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India and France signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in Railways, including constructing world class stations, signalling and telecom technologies.
The MoU was signed in presence of visiting French Minister of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau, Minister of State for Railways Naranbhai Rathwa, Chairman and Managing Director SNCF International (French Railways) Jean-Pierre Lubinox and Railway Board Chairman K C Jena.
The agreement will be valid for a period of three years and it will enable mutually beneficial cooperation between the two railways, Jena said.
Hoping that the MoU will be a very useful vehicle for cooperation, he said world class terminals, signalling and telecom technologies, rolling stock and future high speed rail projects are possible areas of cooperation between the two railways.
A steering committee comprising two representatives of each country will be set up under the MoU. The committee will meet alternatively in France and India and take up various issues for strengthening and promoting technical cooperation between the two countries.
Speaking on the occasion, Rathwa said, "Indian Railways is on the growth path and poised for massive infrastructure investments. In future the country requires high speed passenger services also. This MoU will further promote cooperation and be of benefit to Indian Railways and also to the French Railways".
The Indian Railways have agreement with the railways of Austria, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa and China.