DEDICATED Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) finance director Mr M K Mittal and World Bank country director for India Mr Onno Ruhl signed a $US 1.1bn loan agreement in Delhi on December 11, which will finance the 393km second phase of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) between Bhaupur and Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh.

INDIA's ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has selected about 20 railway projects worth Rs 900bn ($US 14.5bn) for domestic or foreign direct private investment, allowing Indian Railways to float global bids shortly.

CHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) will begin a feasibility study early next year of what is billed as the world's longest high speed railway – a 2174km line connecting the Indian capital, New Delhi, with the southern port city of Chennai at an estimated cost of Rs 2 trillion ($US 32.3bn).

MUMBAI Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has approved the construction of two more metro lines in the city.

DELHI Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has awarded Alstom an €85m contract to supply 25 standard-gauge three-car trains for the initial phase of the metro network in the Indian city of Kochi.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on September 18 by the chairman Indian Railways (IR) Mr Arunendra Kumar and the head of China Railway Corporation (CRC) Mr Lu Dongfu for a joint pre-feasibility study into constructing a high-speed line.

CSR Zhuzhou, China, announced on September 10 that it has signed a $US 49m contract with Navi Mumbai City and Industrial Development Corporation to supply a fleet of three-car trains for the initial phase of the Indian city's first metro line.

INDIA's Union Cabinet granted its approval on August 20 for the first phase of the metro network in Nagpur, the capital of Maharashtra state and India's 13th-largest city with a population of 2.2 million.

INDIA's Rs 700bn ($US 11.6bn) rail market is now open to global manufacturers and investors, following cabinet approval for so-called Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).