Number of countries express interest to import Train 18 set, reveal senior rail officials

Peru, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and some countries in the Middle East have expressed interest in importing the Railways' state-of-the-art Train 18, a senior official said Friday, even as the ambitious project awaits its first commercial run.

Train 18 which has run at a maximum speed of 180 kmph during its trial run will have its debut journey from Varanasi to Delhi.

"Many countries have expressed interest in the train set and we are happy and proud that an indigenously made product is attracting so much interest. The rolling stock market worldwide is worth about 200 billion dollars and we want a significant share of it. Now, the aim is to successfully run the train," said Member, Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agarwal.

Sources said the train sets currently available worldwide at the standard of Train 18 cost around Rs 250 crore, while the Indian version manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai costs around Rs 100 crore.

India, which is the latest entrant into the