A proposed metro project in Pune, India's eighth largest city, received a boost earlier this week when the Maharashtra state government approved the project and committed to partly fund its construction.

INDIAN Railways (IR) is working on plans to adopt Common Rail Electronic Direct Fuel Injection (CREDI) technology for diesel locomotives with the aim of reducing fuel costs for its 4500-strong fleet.

THE government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh announced on September 10 it will appoint Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to act as interim consultant on the construction of the first phase of the metro network in the state capital Lucknow.

INDIAN Railways (IR) will shortly invite tenders to set up a rail coach factory at Pallakad in the southern Indian state of Kerala at an estimated cost of Rs 6bn ($US 101.7m.)

REPRESENTATIVES of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) have signed contracts worth a total of Rs 67bn ($US 1.15bn) with a consortium of Sojitz, Japan, and Larsen & Toubro, India, for Packages 1 and 2 of the Rewari – Iqbalgarh stretch of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).

THE Indian government kicked off a programme of financial reforms for Indian Railways (IR) on August 1, when the cabinet approved proposals to establish an independent Rail Tariff Regulatory Authority (RTA).

INFRASTRUCTURE Leasing and Financial Services Rail (IF&LS), the Indian company which holds the PPP concession to build the metro in Gurgaon south of Delhi, has awarded Siemens a turnkey contract worth around Rs 5.65bn ($US 92m) to supply signalling, electrification, and rolling stock for the second phase of the network.

India's prime minister Mr Manmohan Singh was understandably upbeat in June when he inaugurated a critical component of a challenging project to build the first railway in the Kashmir valley. But, as Raghav Thakur reports, the new line is already five years late, and there are doubts whether it will be completed by the current December 2017 deadline.

DELHI Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has issued an international invitation to tender for a contract to supply 25 three-car metro trains for the first phase of the Kochi Metro.

FOLLOWING the retirement of Mr Vinay Mittal on July 1, current member, mechanical, Mr Arunendra Kumar (pictured right) has also temporarily assumed the position of chairman of Indian Railways' board.