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India’s railways are the busiest in the world with 23 million people travelling on them every day. But it is a system creaking under the pressure of demand and often dilapidated infrastructure.

The government has pledged to spend $137bn (£90bn) on the railway network over the next five years and it wants international firms to be involved.

India now allows 100% foreign investment in parts of the railway network and it has just awarded deals worth a total of $5.6bn (£3.7bn) to two firms - General Electric & Alstom.

GE's contract is to build and maintain 1,000 diesel trains – work it will do mainly in India - including opening a new factory and two maintenance sites.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Rico Hizon met GE's vice chairman John Rice and started by asking why the deal was significant.