INDIAN Railways has announced it will invite bids in March 2013 for PPP contracts to establish electric and diesel locomotive production facilities at Madhepura and Marhoura in the state of Bihar.

INDIA's Railways Ministry says it expects to begin work soon on a detailed project report for the country's first high-speed line with the aim of inviting global tenders for the Rs 650bn ($US 11.8bn) Pune – Mumbai – Ahmedabad project by November 2013.

FERROVIA Trans Rail Solutions, the joint venture awarded the Rs.1.56bn ($US 28m) contract to build the 66km New Kawadia - Durgapur section of India's 1839km Ludhiana - Dankuni eastern dedicated freight corridor (DFC), will import a refurbished Harsco Rail track laying machine in December.

INDIAN Railways has reported a 20.7% increase in revenues for the first quarter of the 2012-13 financial year with earnings for April-June reaching $US 6bn, compared with $US 5bn during the corresponding period last year.

Indian Railways (IR) has agreed to be included in the southern corridor of the planned Trans-Asian Railway network.

As a result, IR will need to build a 97km rail link between Jiribam and Tupul at an estimated cost of Rs 30bn ($US 586m) under the first phase of the project.

THE 2012-13 railway budget, presented by railway minister Mr Dinesh Trivedi in the Indian parliament today, calls for total spending of Rs 601bn ($US 12.3bn), which Trivedi says is the highest ever. But capital investment during the 12th five-year plan, which runs from this year to 2017, will more than treble from Rs 1.92 trillion during the 11th five-year plan to Rs 7.35 trillion.

CHINA's minister of railways Mr Sheng Guangzu says Yuan 400bn ($US 63.1bn) will be invested in railway infrastructure construction in 2012, which is 15% less than the Yuan 469bn spent this year, and a 42% reduction compared with the Yuan 700bn invested in 2010. Total fixed asset railway investment will be around Yuan 500bn next year.

INDIAN Railways (IR) is inviting international bids to set up two locomotive factories at Marhaura and Madhepura in Bihar state.

OFFICIALS from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, as well as representatives of JR East and JR Central, visited India's railways minister Mr Dinesh Trivedi last month, with the intention of promoting Japanese high-speed rail technology.