Railways, Karnataka sign pact to set up rail coach unit

 The railways ministry and the Karnataka government Thursday signed an agreement here to set up a rail coach factory at Kolar in the state.

As part of the agreement, the railways ministry and the state government will equally share the project cost estimated to be Rs.1,460 crore and to be set up in about 1,100 acres of land to be provided by the state free.

"The new rail coach unit will meet the increasing demand for passenger coaches and foster economic development of the state," Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister K.H. Muniyappa said here on the occasion.

Muniyappa, a veteran Congress leader, represents the Kolar parliamentary constituency from the southern state.

The agreement was signed by Railway Board advisor K. Swaminathan and state's Infrastructure Development Secretary Vandita Sharma in the presence of Muniyappa, Minister of State for Railways Surya Prakash Reddy, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Infrastructure Development Minister Roshan Baig.

"The greenfield project will generate about 5,000 jobs and roll out 500 coaches in the first phase and 1,000 coaches when fully completed," Muniyappa said.