Private train operations likely to begin in India by April 2023; higher speed expected

A day after the Ministry of Railways kickstarted the process to allow private entities to operate passenger trains, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav on Thursday announced that private train operations are likely to commence by April 2023. He stated that all the coaches of these trains would be procured under the 'Make in India' policy. Maintaining that these trains would have to be bought and maintained by the private operators, he revealed that they shall be penalised for falling short on any performance indicators.

Thereafter, he stressed that private participation in passenger train operations would only constitute 5% of the Railways' total operations. According to Yadav, private participation in passenger train operations implied a "quantum jump" in technology and higher speed. Commenting on the fare structure, he observed that the prices in private trains shall be competitive keeping in mind the prices in other modes of transport such as airlines and buses. 

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Private participation in operation of passenger trains

On Wednesday, the Railways Ministry invited Request for Qualifications for private participation for the operation of passenger train services over 109 Original Destination pairs of routes through the introduction of 151 modern trains. While the pairs of routes have been formed into 12 clusters across the Railways network, each train shall have a minimum of 16 coaches. Private sector investment of about Rs.30,000 crore has been envisaged, marking it the first initiative of private investment for running passenger trains in India. A majority of the trains will be manufactured in India.

As the new trains will have a maximum speed of 160 km per hour, the running time taken by them would be comparable or faster than the fastest train of the Railways operating in the respective route. This initiative aims at introducing modern technology rolling stock with reduced maintenance, boosting job creation, enhancing safety, and providing a world-class experience to passengers. While the concession period for the project will be 35 years, the private entity will pay fixed haulage charges, energy charges as per consumption, and a share in gross revenue determined through a transparent bidding process. These trains would be operated by the driver and guard of the Railways. 

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(Image credits: ANI)