London, Dec 7 (IANS) Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest rail networks, could be expanded to develop transport infrastructure in Africa and other developing regions under an ambitious World Bank plan, a newspaper reported.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the Washington-based lender wants help the profit-making public sector corporation to grow beyond its borders.

“We can help the Indian Railways in India, but also, as they develop greater efficiencies, to move abroad,” The Financial Times quoted Zoellick as saying on his recent visit to India.

“It fulfils what I was hoping to achieve when I first came to the Bank, which is to draw in some of the emerging economic development into the development process whether by sharing information, sharing business models and expanding investment,” Zoellick said.

“We’ve done it with China. I’d like to do it with India, and I hope to do it with other countries.”

Indian Railways revenues of about $18bn, carries 20 million passengers a day on about 18,000 trains and employs 1.4 million people.

The FT said Indian Railways has supplied locomotives to Mozambique, Tanzania, Mali and Senegal, coaches to Angola and rehabilitated rail tracks in Mozambique and Liberia.

Zoellick added: “In some service industries, including health, I would like us to partner, through the International Finance Corporation (the Bank arm working with the private sector), to support those industries going to other developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, and provide these additional services.”