Railways set to get regulator as it readies for private operators

NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways will get a regulator as it starts the process of allowing private operators to run passenger train services, Railway board chairman V K Yadav told TOI in an interview.
While this long-awaited reform will help attract private sector investment, the national transporter has decided not to outsource the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and its hospitals even as it actively considers getting out of running schools.
Railway board chairman VK Yadav told TOI though earlier there was a proposal to set up a Rail Development Authority, they are now reviewing its terms of reference. “We want to review that proposal in the current situation because when it was formulated there was no discussion about private sector participation in passenger train operation. We will have to go for some sort of RDA,” he said.
In 2017, the department of personnel and train had finalised the process of selecting a regulator, but it couldn’t happen. With private operation of trains, the role of the regulator has become all the more important to ensure protection of consumer interests. The railway board chairman said the decision to allow private operators to run trains has been taken “not in isolation”.