Lalu signs MoU with Italy on setting up JWG

The MoU, signed on Monday in Rome, would provide an institutionalised and structured exchange of information.

On an official visit to several countries, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad held wide-ranging discussions with senior officials in Italy and signed an MoU on setting up a Joint Working Group to identify projects of mutual interests.

HT Image

The Joint Working Group would have three representatives from each side, an official release said in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The MoU, signed on Monday in Rome, would provide an institutionalised and structured exchange of information in different areas of interest.

This would enable Indian Railways to receive latest technological information on on-going research and development in various fields such as maintenance of Railways, safety and security, the release said.

Prasad travelled from Rome to Naples, a distance of 210 km, on a train running at a speed of 310 km per hour.

He also met Italian Infrastructure Minister Anonio Dietro and briefed him about the "turnaround" in the Indian Railways which had earned profits without increasing fare or freight rates during the past two years, the release said.