Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday met Japanese Prime Minister Sinzo Abe in Tokyo and discussed the possibilities and avenues of technology cooperation between both the countries to achieve zero accident goal in Indian Railways.
Prabhu will also visit South Korea to explore the possibilities of acquiring high speed technology for the Railways’ ambitious bullet train project. The Minister is expected to discuss the issues affecting railways and also ways to strengthen cooperation in rail sector with Japan and Korea, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
Accompanied by Railway Advisor (Infrastructure) Girish Pillai, Prabhu is also expected to witness the modernised signal system and experience high speed service in both the countries.
While Railways is facing an increased number of train accidents in the recent past, Japan is known for a zero accident rate in its rail operations. Japan is already involved in the construction of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and Railways is in the process of importing 40 high power electric locomotives from it.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has also conducted feasibility study of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor for running first bullet train in the country.