Mission 350 Plus: Railways to explore levitation technology

New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) Moving ahead on its Mission 350Plus, Railways will organise a global meet to explore thepossibilities of introducing ultra-high speed technology torun trains at a speed of 500 km per hour. "Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has envisioned Mission350 Plus in which the Railways should enter the futuristicfield of ultra-high speed rail network and work towardsbuilding an Indian technology which is economical and on parwith the best," Rolling Stock Member Hemant Kumar said here. Accordingly, Railways has floated an Expression ofInterest (EoI) tender for developing, constructing and runningultra-high speed railway system in India on PPP basis. The last date for the EoI is September 6 and so far fourglobal players from have shown interest in the project, asenior railway official said today. It is expected that the EoI will give a full view ofemerging technologies available in the world in this frontierarea of railway technology and enable Indian Railways to moveto the next step of sanctioning a project. Trains can run at more than 350 km per hour speed withthe use of levitation technology which is operational inGermany, China and Japan, among other countries, he said. In order to take this mission further, Railways isorganising a one-day international conference on September 2here on technology for ultra high speed rolling stock foroperation at maximum speeds of 500 kmph and above. Kumar said the conference has been organised to bringfocus on development ultra-high speed railway systems in thecountry. "This will create a confluence of minds and ideas fromacross the globe and become a catalyst for a majortransformation of Indian Railways to an ultra modern railwaysystem, on par with the best," Kumar added. The conference has evoked interest from all major playersin the field of ultra-high speed including Germany, USA,Japan, Switzerland and Spain. Kumar said, "The Railway Minister’s vision is to makerolling stock the driver for this major shift from India beinga technology importer and manufacturer to becoming a developerand designer for futuristic rolling stock technologies." HyperLoop Transport Technology from USA, Quadralev USA,Talgo from Spain, RTRI Japan, Siemens Germany, Knorr Bremse,Germany, Prose Switzerland are expected to participate in themeet. Besides, delegates numbering about 500 from railways,Indian industry, diplomatic community, international industry,federations of unions in railways are likely to attend theconference. PTI ARU KIS ZMNKIS