Team News Riveting
New Delhi, July 23
Ministry of Railways has received bids from both private and public sectors to operate 29 pairs of trains.
Bids (RFPs) for Private Train Project have been opened from today. With around 40 modern rakes, the private train project will be entailing an investment of around Rs 7200 crore.
Only two bidders, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) reportedly participated in the bids. Indian Railways has received bids for three Clusters – Mumbai 2, Delhi 1 and Delhi 2. With high footfall and revenue, firms showed the most interest in Delhi and Mumbai clusters.
The private train project envisages private investment to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore for running passenger trains over the rail network for the first time. This is an entirely new attempt to bring world class trains through Public Private Participation (PPP) in India.
The private entities for undertaking the project would be selected through a transparent two-stage competitive bidding process comprising a request for qualification (RFQ) and request for proposal (RFP).
The Indian Railways plans to begin private train operations by March 2023, with 12 trains, according to an internal projection. By 2027, Railways plans to bring in 151 such services.
The Ministry of Railways will expeditiously complete the evaluation and decide the bids.
