AMN / NEW DELHI
The Railway Ministry has said that the private trains are slated to run from March 2023. The Ministry has issued the clarification regarding timeline of introduction of private trains, as some section of the media had mentioned that the private trains project will start in March 2024.
The Railways said, the tenders will be finalised by March 2021 and trains will operate from March 2023.
151 Trains proposed to be run by Private operators would be OVER and ABOVE the already existing trains. These 151 trains are in ADDITION to the existing trains, said the government.
“These proposed Trains will run on the routes where the demand for trains is already higher than the existing capacity cz has invited Request for Qualifications( RFQ) for private participation for operation of passenger train services over 109 Origin Destination(OD) pairs of routes. The project would entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore”, said ministry in a statement adding that the driver and guard of the trains will be Railway officials. The safety clearance of trains will be done by Railways only
Ministry of Railways has recently invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private participation for operation of passenger train services over 109 Origin Destination(OD) pairs of routes through introduction of 151 modern Trains (Rakes).
151 Trains to be run by Private operators once the selection process is over, would be over and above the already existing trains.
These trains are going to run on the routes where there the demand for trains is already higher than the existing capacity…
The driver and guard of the trains will Railway officials . The safety clearance of trains will be done by Railways only .
The 109 OD Pairs have been formed into 12 Clusters across the Indian Railway network. Each Train shall have a minimum of 16 coaches.
The project would entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore. This is the first initiative of private investment for running Passenger Trains over Indian Railways network.
Majority of Trains to be manufactured in India (Make in India). The private entity shall be responsible for financing, procuring, operation and maintenance of the trains.
Trains shall be designed for a maximum speed of 160 kmph. There would be a substantial reduction in journey time.The running time taken by a train shall be comparable to or faster than the fastest train of Indian Railways operating in the respective route.
The objective of this initiative is to introduce modern technology rolling stock with reduced maintenance, reduced transit time, boost job creation, provide enhanced safety, provide world class travel experience to passengers, and also reduce demand supply deficit in the passenger transportation sector.