With such world-class travel experience, will these modern trains give airlines a competition? Moneycontrol's Sakshi Batra does a 3 Point Analysis.
The Ministry of Railways on July 1 formally initiated the process to allow private entities to operate passenger trains on its network. It invited request for qualification (RFQ) for participation in 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains. This is the first initiative for private investment in passenger trains on the Indian Railways' network.
While the details have not been specified yet, but certain minimum standards will have to be guaranteed. Coaches will have “improved passenger comfort, efficient air conditioning with automatic temperature and humidity control, superior interiors and toilets, etc.”
Just like airlines, each of the selected private train operators will offer its own set of onboard passenger services ranging from the premium onboard infotainment, a-la-carte food menu, and GPS enabled passenger announcement system for onboard announcements for station arrivals, time to next station/destination, safety announcements, etc.