(From left) Simon Wilson, British deputy high commissioner to eastern India, D. Sengupta, chairman of the ICC expert committee on infrastructure, Robert Docherty, international business specialist on railways, J.P. Chowdhury, former president of the ICC, Tim Gray, international business development director of the UK, in Calcutta on Tuesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowhury

Calcutta, April 22: A high-level delegation from the UK will meet R. Velu, minister of state for railways, on Wednesday to discuss investment opportunities.

Simon Wilson, British deputy high commissioner to eastern India, said, “The delegation will make presentations on various projects, including connectivity with ports, dedicated freight corridors, suburban and mass transport systems.”

He was addressing a seminar organised jointly by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the UK Trade and Investment today.

“The private sector as well as railway experts from the UK are working with the Indian Railways to provide state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, technology and training,” Wilson said.

Former ICC president J.P. Chowdhary said the British delegation would present various project proposals to improve the service, efficiency as well as annual turnover of the railways.

“With growth in the economy, the railways’ increasing need for infrastructure will largely be met by international players,” Chowdhary said.

“The Indian Railways has put up a remarkable performance in freight as well as passenger segments. Despite being a large public sector enterprise, it earned profits and fulfilled its social responsibilities, employed new technology and has been innovative,” said Wilson.

He noted that the Indian Railways was being used as a case study in many leading business schools worldwide.

The Indian Railways is the second largest system in the world under single management, with a network of 62,725 km, 21.5 per cent of which runs on electricity.

The Indian Railways ranks second in the world after China in terms of freight intensity, track to land ratio, wagons to track ratio, and passengers and cargo handling.