NEW DELHI: Rail passengers will have the option to board trains operated by private players by April 2023. The routes of 109 pairs of such trains have been identified to ensure that all important cities, and major tourist and pilgrimage destinations, are connected.
Railway Board chairman V K Yadav claimed this was being done to increase availability of trains. According to the railway ministry, a maximum of 18 pairs of such trains will be operated under Mumbai clusters (regions), followed by 13 pairs each under Delhi and Prayagraj regions. As per the bid document, 12 pairs of such trains will be operated under Chennai region, 10 each under Howrah, Patna and Secunderabad clusters and nine each under Jaipur and Chandigarh regions. Five pairs will be operated under Bengaluru region.
‘Market to determine fares for trains run by pvt players’
Railway Board chairman V K Yadav on Thursday dismissed any speculation that it would lead to job cuts in railways or the poor getting hit. “These (trains) will constitute only 5% of the mail and express trains that we normally operate. So, the rest 95% will be operated by railways. Increased availability will also result in comfortable ride for the common man. ” he said.
Asked if private players would hike fares exorbitantly for trains operated by them, Yadav said the trains would compete with flights and airconditioned buses. “So, the market will determine the fares,” he said. The Railway Board chief also said the move would improve technology, which would mean that the coaches that now require maintenance after running 4,000km, would need maintenance after every 40,000km. “That is either once or twice a month,” he told reporters. The bidder offering maximum share of revenue will get the contract to run such trains for 35 years.
Yadav said a mechanism would be put in place to monitor the performance of such concessionaires and there would be a provision for penalty, though he did not specify whether there would be a regulator for this purpose. He also said railways was improving the infrastructure for trains to run at high speed. This year, the maximum speed limit for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata routes was increased from 110kmph to 130 kmph, and in the next four years, trains can run at 160kmph on these sections, he said.
Railway Board chairman V K Yadav claimed this was being done to increase availability of trains. According to the railway ministry, a maximum of 18 pairs of such trains will be operated under Mumbai clusters (regions), followed by 13 pairs each under Delhi and Prayagraj regions. As per the bid document, 12 pairs of such trains will be operated under Chennai region, 10 each under Howrah, Patna and Secunderabad clusters and nine each under Jaipur and Chandigarh regions. Five pairs will be operated under Bengaluru region.
‘Market to determine fares for trains run by pvt players’
Railway Board chairman V K Yadav on Thursday dismissed any speculation that it would lead to job cuts in railways or the poor getting hit. “These (trains) will constitute only 5% of the mail and express trains that we normally operate. So, the rest 95% will be operated by railways. Increased availability will also result in comfortable ride for the common man. ” he said.
Asked if private players would hike fares exorbitantly for trains operated by them, Yadav said the trains would compete with flights and airconditioned buses. “So, the market will determine the fares,” he said. The Railway Board chief also said the move would improve technology, which would mean that the coaches that now require maintenance after running 4,000km, would need maintenance after every 40,000km. “That is either once or twice a month,” he told reporters. The bidder offering maximum share of revenue will get the contract to run such trains for 35 years.
Yadav said a mechanism would be put in place to monitor the performance of such concessionaires and there would be a provision for penalty, though he did not specify whether there would be a regulator for this purpose. He also said railways was improving the infrastructure for trains to run at high speed. This year, the maximum speed limit for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata routes was increased from 110kmph to 130 kmph, and in the next four years, trains can run at 160kmph on these sections, he said.
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