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India is expediting talks with Tehran for over $5-billion worth project exports from India to Iran’s railway sector. Tehran has agreed to seek lines of credit (LoC) from the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) in rupee for financing such railway project exports (of relatively long term in nature) from India to Iran. India had given Iran the option of choosing either using the rupee payment mechanism or the LoC. India is exploring the possibility of helping build more railway lines in Iran -- in addition to the Chabahar railway project -- to connect their manufacturing and mining centres to their ports. Project exports from India to Iran in the railway sector will include supplying and laying of tracks, building signaling systems, carrying out electrical work and upgrading existing rail operations. The Iranian government, according to reports, is planning to expand the country’s railway network annually by 500-1,000 km to ensure it touches 25,000 km by 2025 from around 13,000 km now. The Exim Bank data as on January 10 shows that it had in December 2009 disbursed a $200-million general purpose LoC (with tenure of up to 8 years) to many Iranian commercial banks for financing India’s exports to Iran. The ministries of finance and commerce are in discussions on LoCs in rupee to Iran for long-term project exports, especially in the rail sector.