Railways opens doors for private players, invites proposals to operate passenger trains on 109 routes

In a first for the Indian Railways passengers train network, private players are now being rope in by the Railways to operate passenger train networks. The Railways on Wednesday formally kickstarted its plans to allow private entities to operate passenger trains on its network by inviting request for qualifications (RFQ) for participation on 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains, the national transporter said. The project would entail a private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore, it said.