Lalu's Italian counterpart likes his work on passenger amenities

New Delhi, Feb 15 (UNI) Italian Minister for Infrastructure Antonio Di Pietro is impressed by the measures taken by Railway Ministry Lalu Prasad to enhance passenger amenities.

Mr Di Pietro conveyed his appreciation to Mr Prasad when he called on the latter here today.

Mr Prasad presented him a momento, a model of 'Fairy Queen' a steam locomotive engine which is more than 150 years old and still in operation.

Both the Ministers discussed various aspects of railway working which can pave the way for future bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the rail transport sector.

Mr Prasad said his Ministry had adopted a strategy to evolve Public Private Partnership (PPP) to the maximum extent and a number of projects had been identified to be implemented on PPP route.

These are construction of new Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Modernization of Railway Stations with world class passenger amenities, commercial utilization of vacant Railway land and operation of container trains etc.

Earlier, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the Italian Railways Ferrovie Dello Stato in July last year during the visit of the Indian Railway Minister to Italy.

The agreement envisages cooperation in various aspects of railway working including technical assistance, consultancy, advisory services and training of personnel.

A joint working group composed of three senior officials from both sides has been set up to steer the bilateral cooperation under the MOU.

The first meeting of the joint working group is proposed to be held in March or April.

The MOU between Indian Railways and Ferrovie Dello Stato is likely to benefit Indian Railways by providing an institutionalized and structured exchange of information in different areas.

It will provide a platform to receive information on the latest technological advancements and ongoing research and development in various fields.

UNI