New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS): In a bid to increase the speed of the trains up to 160 kmph on the busy Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai route, the Indian Railways will invest Rs 18000 crore on upgrading infrastructure. The remarks were made by Railway Board Chairman V. K. Yadav after inaugurating the International Rail Conference 2019 and the 13th International Railway Equipment Exhibition here.

Yadav said, once the project begins, it will take at least four years to complete.

According to the railway ministry officials, currently the average maximum speed of trains on several routes is 99 kmph. Even the recently launched Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi has an average speed of 104 kmph between Delhi-Kanpur section.

The events have been organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in association with the Indian Railways here.

At the International Rail Conference, an MoU was signed between Ghana's Railway Development Ministry and RITES for implementing the rail projects in that country.

According to RITES, India's engineering consultancy firm, the MOU has been signed to promote long term bilateral co-operation in transport and infrastructure development projects in Ghana.

Commenting on the MOU, RITES Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Mehrotra said, "Economic growth in Republic of Ghana has been on fast pace and this MOU is a step towards building a long term business relationship between RITES and Ministry of Railway Development, Republic of Ghana."

"It will help RITES to enhance its presence in Ghana, while Ghana will be benefited by technical knowledge, experience, training and resources of Indian Railways and RITES," Mehrotra added.