Centre okays UNO's dream project

The Indian Railways are playing an important role in the execution of this project.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad showed a keen interest in the project while presenting the railway budget in Lok Sabha on February 26.

He expressed hope that TARN would fulfil the cherished dream of people who wish to travel by trains across these countries.

According to the Chairman of Railway Board (CRB) K C Jena, he would be visiting Iran soon to hold a meeting there with the representatives of other countries.

The mega project will benefit people in a major way as it will enable them to visit these 27 countries by trains at moderate charges, Jena said, adding that the project would be completed in 15 to 20 years.

The countries to be linked under the TARN project include India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Patna, which is all set to become a world-class station, has been selected as one of the routes for running TARN special trains.

According to a senior Railway Board official (planning), about 18 countries have, so far, signed the agreement at the UNO's initiative.

The basic aim behind this is to promote tourism, art and culture among these Asian countries. As most of the European countries are linked together either by roads or railways, these Asian countries could also be linked together through railway network, he said. According to sources, the Indian Railways are already linked to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

However, India will have to build about 350-km-long railway route for being connected to Myanmar at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore, of which, India is likely to spend about Rs 1,800 crore, the sources said.

A Railway Board official said that as per the agreement, about 11,460 km of new railway tracks passing through 27 countries would be laid. The entire project has been divided into three rail corridors - South Rail, Central Rail and North Rail.

The proposed international rail route is likely to originate from Myanmar and pass through Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar en route UP, Delhi, Punjab and Pakistan, he said, adding that the TARN officials are eager to establish a direct rail link with Bhutan through West Bengal.