Prime Minister Narendra Modi might have widened the scope of Japanese collaboration in various spheres through his recent visit to the country, but India’s first Railway University will be officially modelled after institutions in China. The Railway Ministry has formally communicated to the Cabinet Secretariat and the PMO that it is studying Chinese models for the proposed university exclusively for railway-related courses—one of the ideas prescribed by Modi himself—and has already held consultations with the National Railway Administration, China, which visited Railway Board recently. China has been teaching railway-specific courses for the past 100 years and currently has multiple universities in the discipline. So, Railway Ministry officials thought that taking a leaf out of China’s experience would be a way forward. The curriculum, administration and optimum resource-utilisation in the university will follow China’s footsteps in this regard, as per discussions held with Chinese officials. For the time being, IIT-Kharagpur will introduce engineering courses related specifically to Railways in collaboration with the ministry, a communication seen by The Indian Express said. This will be the first such initiative in the country for Railways. Collaborating with the IIT was an advice from the HRD ministry in response to a request from Railways. “We are planning to visit China to get a first-hand experience about the workings of a railway university. China is far ahead in the world as far as teaching railway-related courses is concerned,” said a railway board official. The Ministry is going to appoint EdCIL, an HRD-ministry controlled PSU that specializes in providing end-to-end solutions for setting up of the educational institutes. The contract with EdCIL is slated to be signed on September 30, the Cabinet Secretariat has been informed. Building a university will require preparation of a Detailed Project Report, which EdCIL will help Railways make. A Cabinet note will be moved in this regard. Subsequently, Railways with consultation with the HRD ministry will write a Bill enabling the creation of the new Railway university, which will be moved in Parliament. The location of the proposed university is still under consideration. Ministry officials said that the choice of the location would depend on the advice from the HRD ministry and the EdCIL project report. “We would like it to be a city with ample connectivity by rail and air so that movement of faculty and facilities for students is not a constraint,” the official said. The facility is slated to offer undergraduate and post-graduate courses on railway engineering and management-related subjects. Chinese firms fail to meet criteria, out of race to build 2 loco units in Bihar New Delhi Chinese locomotive manufacturing majors CNR and CSR are officially out of the race to build two loco factories in Bihar’s Madhepura and Marhowra. After delays, re-thinking and prolonged due diligence amid repeated revision of bidding documents, Railways has at last finalised the request for qualification (RFQ) for both the plants and rejected the two Chinese companies’ bids as they did not meet the criteria, a senior official confirmed. For the diesel locomotive factory, GE and Electro Motive Diesel have been shortlisted, while Alstom, Siemens, GE and Bombardier have been shortlisted for electric locomotive factory. Each factory is for Rs 1,300 crore and will come up in a joint venture with Indian Railways.
