Export of indigenously built Train 18 not a priority, says Railway Board

The Railway Ministry has been making progress at a snail’s pace regarding the train’s export which is capable of clocking 160-200kmph.

Rajesh Agarwal, a member (rolling stock) of the Railway Board, admitted this during his recent inspection of Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in the city.

“Right now, we have our own requirement. Even if we get interest (from other countries), we don’t know if we would be able to begin exports immediately,” he said.

“Currently, we are not looking seriously at exporting Train 18,” Agarwal said during a media interaction in ICF this week. When reporters persisted, he admitted, “I am a really doubtful whether we would be in a position to begin exports as of now,” before adding that there was immediate interest from Asia and far west for the train which has attracted international attention. “There are various segments like South East Asia and South America where there could be an immediate interest. There is an indication,” he said, hinting that they may eventually target the Europe market in the long run.

The Rs 100-crore train is the first long-distance train in the country, without a separate locomotive (engine). It was flagged off at the ICF premises by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani in October last year.

But, it’s not only train 18 whose progress has been stalling. The Railways has been slow in manufacturing trains in ICF.

Though the Ministry has approved the manufacture of 40 train sets in ICF, Agarwal was unwilling to put a number on the quantum of trains to be churned out from ICF this year. The coach factory has only rolled out the second train set (first for the 2019-20 fiscal) despite setting a target of 10 trains sets for the current fiscal.