India

Rapid economic and population growth have placed great strains on both urban transportation and the country´s rail structure. With growth in freight traffic and urbanization to set to continue, the central and state governments are planning significant investment in rail infrastructure and mass rapid transit systems.

In the 2009 Budget, the Railway Minister has focused on building capacity for the future by making the required investments in infrastructure and freight corridor projects. Railways plan to invest around 57 billion in the next five years during 11th Five Year Plan. The 2008-2009 Ministry of Railway budget included more investment in IT, station upgrades, expansion in rail corridors. Meanwhile, a number of states and cities are planning metro rail and bus rapid transit systems. Opportunities exist in all stages of rail and urban transit system development from design, engineering, manufacturing and maintenance stages, through the supply of consultancy services and equipment. With high investment outlay on highways and expressways, significant opportunities exist for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) - software and automated tolling systems fior highways. Business plan intends to tap this very important segment in view of significant Canadian expertise in the sector.

India has come to realize that metro needs to be the backbone of a big city´s transport system. Six cities are in the midst of their metro projects now. 500km of metro lines have been approved and many more projects are expected to be approved in the near future. Investment worth 15 billion is expected from the private sector for metro projects in the next decade. Keeping in view Canadian soft skills and equipment strengths, business plan will set the stage for Canadian visibility and medium to long term presence in this sector.

Canadian companies have strong expertise in this field, and there have been some notable successes, such as Bombardier´s recent sales to Delhi Metro.

Events:

• April- July 2009 - Outreach to cities (Hyderabad/ Chennai/ Kolkata etc.) – Mass Transit
  
  
• Aug/ Nov 2009 - CII Railway Equipment Show/ Conference , India - Bombardier to participate; will also encourage Canadian company participation, and host a networking event for Canadian participants

• 21-25 Sept 2009 - ITS World Congress, Stockholm – ITS Canada plans to mount a mission of major ITS firms in Canada and ITS India and their key members also planning to participate.
  
  
• 3-5 December 2009 - AITS India Annual Conference and Expo, India- ITS Canada planning to lead a trade delegation.