Kalindee Rail Nirman (Engineers) Ltd, a profit-making public limited company, implements railway projects on turnkey basis in the field of signalling, telecommunications, gauge conversion, laying new railway lines etc. Project Monitor spoke to R.D. Sharma, CMD of the company. Excerpts:

What are the projects Kalindee is currently executing? Which projects has your company implemented in the past?
Outdoor signalling gears in connection with panel interlocking work at Nashik Road, Lahavit, Shegaon and Mana stations of Bhusawal Division; signalling works in connection with new panel interlocking work at Sukinda Road, Tomka, Daitari, Jakhpura(Outdoor) stations on Daitari-Banspani line of South Eastern Railway; signalling arrangements at Titte and Thanjavur stations and 5 LC gates on Khumbakonam section; and, OFC system on Mysore-Hassan-Sakleshpur section of Southern Railway. 
The projects executed are: First signalling project with a track speed of 100 km/hr for running Pink City Express in six months in 1977 on Bandikui-Rewari section of Western Railway; signalling and interlocking of 23 stations for gauge conversion project on Viramgram-Okha-Porbandar on Western Railway in a record time of 12 months in 1979; panel interlocking at 17 stations and 5 level crossing gates completed in a world record time of 4 months and 24 days for gauge conversion on Bangalore-Dharmavaram-Guntakal section of Southern and South Central Railway in 1982; the prestigious contract of 1,000-km long OFC system on Mumbai-Mangalore route of Konkan Railway Corporation; supply and installation of outdoor works for route relay interlocking at Mughalsarai Major Yard of Eastern Railway, Kolkata; and, indoor signalling works in connection with replacement of signalling gears of route relay interlocking at Cuttack station on HWH-VSKP main line in KUR Division of S.E. Railway. 
We have also bagged highly prestigious contracts against global competition in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in collaboration with French MNCs like Alcatel and TSO. For Delhi Metro, our work includes construction of 22 km ballast-less track for Metro underground corridor between Vishwa Vidyalaya and Central Secretariat (10 stations) and 14 km of ballasted track in Khyber Pass Depot Area. We are also into civil projects in the field of roads, bridges, flyovers etc.
In fact, we have successfully executed projects with German collaboration for complete signalling and optic fibre based telecommunication system for Konkan Railway to a length of more than 1,000 km. We have bagged and successfully executed prestigious contracts for complete remodelling and upgradation of Railway Yard at Mumbai Port against tough global competition. We have also won valuable contracts in Visakhapatnam Port, Mundra Port, BPCL, HPCL, VSNL etc. 
Do you execute projects abroad? Do you have foreign collaboration?
Till date we have not executed any projects abroad. However, we have quoted and are planning to undertake overseas projects in the near future in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sudan. 
We have technical collaboration with three foreign companies. 
For Delhi Metro project of 'Automatic Fare Collection System' we are doing this project with a French company named Thales-e- transactions CGA, S.A. We have collaboration with TSO-France for ballast-less track laying of 22 km for Delhi Metro project. The prestigious contract of 1,000 km long fibre optic communication system on Mumbai-Mangalore route of Konkan Railway Corporation has been completed successfully in collaboration with ANT Bosch Telecom, Germany, and Kabel Rheydt. ANT Bosch assisted us in supplying telecom equipment and Kabel Rheydt supplied OFC cable to us.
What are the latest technologies you have?
We have adopted latest technologies for both our Delhi Metro projects. In Automatic Fare Collection System (AFC) we are using contact-less smart tokens and cards for fare collection for the first time or whole journey. The advantage of this type of fare collection system is that it is at an advanced level, well equipped and very efficient with least manpower required. In track laying project we are using Flush Butt Welding with max. 689 joints and 15 minutes average time per joint.
What problems do you face in your business operations?
Paying various taxes like sales tax, excise duty, central tax, local tax, customs duty and income tax at different levels slows down the pace of our work. Labour laws have affected the progress of our work. Sometimes the raw materials supplied are not up to the mark as ordered, so it is sent back, which hampers the work. All the taxes that we are paying at different levels should be summed up at a single level. Labour license should be issued without any delay for smooth running of the project. Corrupt practices should be checked.
What are your company's future plans?
We have initiated several re-organisational steps for improved functioning and cost control. Infrastructure being the basic tool for faster economic growth and railways being planned for massive fund infusion towards modernisation, upgradation and expansion, the future outlook for our company remains bright. 
Kalindee keeps pace with the latest developments to meet the demands of the clients. It will seek cooperation from international companies which are leaders in the latest technologies in the respective fields. The main field of action in future are: Infrastructure works on turnkey basis with financial participation of private enterprise, including integrated upgradation of signalling and telecommunication upgradation; turnkey construction of rail facilities for power industries and ports, express highways, information highways and mass rapid transport systems; and, achievement of uni-gauge environment through sustained gauge conversions.