Stating that the train sets in the service would be brought and maintained by the private operators.
Private train operations are likely to begin by April 2023 and all coaches for the service would be procured under the ‘Make in India’ policy, announced the Railway Board Chairman Thursday.
Stating that the train sets in the service would be brought and maintained by private operators, Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav said that they would be penalised in case any performance indicators were not met by them in passenger train operations.
He added that private participation in passenger train operations would constitute only 5 per cent of the total operations, adding that roping in of private players in the railway sector meant quantum jump in technology and boosting speeds.
On Wednesday, the Railways formally kicked off 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 had added.
This is the first initiative for private investment for running passenger trains on the Indian Railways network. It began last year with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) introducing the Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express.