Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Extending its hospitality to the super spy, the railway ministry has given the go-ahead for the shooting of the next James Bond film on its properties, with riders.

Sources said though Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi was “positive” on the next Bond film being shot on Indian Railways properties, he wanted no “inconvenience to the passengers” in the process.

According to ministry officials, film production company Take 1, which had sought permission to shoot for the next Bond film on rail tracks, submitted a final list of two locations each in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Goa Aug 30.

What was worrying the ministry was the request of the company for “locking off the lines for seven-eight hours a day for seven days in a row”. This would require train schedules to be reworked, said officials.

“We have asked the zonal railways to examine their requirements and get back to us. Whatever help is needed by them will be given,” Chandralekha Mukherjee, executive director, information and publicity, railway ministry, told IANS Thursday.

She said the company had been told that during the shooting, it should not stop traffic, inconvenience passengers and pay all the dues to the local railway offices in case of damages to railway property.

She said providing a special train and doing some work in the coaches, as desired by the film production company, was not a problem.

Representatives of company recently met the minister in this regard, said sources.

The company intimated the railways it plans to shoot the Bond film in February-March 2012. The initial request for the shoot had come July 20 this year.

Officials said they want to be associated with the Bond film as it would get international publicity to the Indian Railways.

They said usually the ministry granted permission to around 15 such requests in a month but this one had generated a hype as it involved an internationally popular character.

Daniel Craig, who has starred as British spy James Bond in earlier films “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace”, will play the secret agent in the new film tentatively titled “Bond 23″.