No, This Video Does Not Show Track Laying Machines Being Used in India

The video actually shows construction of a rail project in Malaysia named East Coast Rail Link.

Fact-Check | The video is unrelated to India and is being shared with a false claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing a machine laying railway tracks is going viral on the internet with a claim that it shows new technology that is being used in India.

What have users said?: Those sharing the video have said, "This is the technology of today's India. Which the government could not launch in the last 60 years. Because the tax money of the people of India was being deposited in Swiss banks (sic)."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

What is the truth?: The claim is false as the video is unrelated to India. It actually shows construction of a rail project in Malaysia named East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

How did we find that out?: A Google Lens search on the keyframes of the video directed us to a shorter version of the video uploaded on an X handle named 'Sharing Travel'.

• It was published on 9 January 2024 with a caption that said, "Malaysia's East Coast Railway began laying tracks."

• We performed another reverse image search and came across a post shared by China.org that carried similar visuals.

• It mentioned that the mega rail project in Malaysia named ECRL is being built by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

Comparing viral video with the images above: On comparing several keyframes of the viral video to the images shared by China.org, we found that all of them showed the same machine.

(Swipe right to view all comparisons.)

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

News reports: As per a recent report, Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah launched the track laying for the mega rail project.

• It further mentioned that the ECRL is a major infrastructure project being developed under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

• Malaysian Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook had said that the advanced track-laying equipment from China will help in improving the railway's construction efficiency.

The report was published on 12 December 2023.

(Source: News.cn/Screenshot)

• Team WebQoof found visuals of the same track laying machine uploaded on the official YouTube channel of AP Archive.

• Its description said that the ECRL is a joint Malaysia-China rail project that spans 655 kilometres and passes through four states.

• It further said that the construction started in August 2017 and is due for completion in 2025.

Track laying machines being used in India: As per a report published in the Hindu Business Line, track-laying machines were used in the dedicated rail freight corridor. The machine could reportedly lay up to 2.5 km of tracks a day and cost around Rs 60-70 crores each.

Conclusion: An unrelated video is being shared to claim that it shows track laying machines being recently used in India.

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