ADB to provide loan to India for railway track electrification project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to provide long-term financing of $750 million equivalent in Indian rupees to fund the Railways track electrification project. It is the largest single non-sovereign loan ever committed by ADB to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to electrify railway tracks in India. It is part of a broad modernisation programme that will help the railways transition to electric power and move away from dependence on fossil fuels. IRFC will use the loan proceeds to install electric traction equipment along approximately 3,378 km of existing railway lines, which will enable the migration of passenger and freight traffic from diesel to electric traction. The electrification assets will be leased to the Indian Railways under a long-term lease agreement.