In accordance with the initial timeline drawn by the railways, it has planned to roll out 151 private train services by 2027 on 109 pairs of routes across the country. In this regard, Indian Railways is ready to introduce 12 trains in 2022-23, 45 in 2023-2024, 50 in 2025-26 and 44 more in the next fiscal, taking the total number of trains to 151 by the end of FY 2026-2027. There would be Rs 30,000 crore private sector investment in this project.
- The operation and maintenance of these trains would be governed by standards and specifications specified by Indian Railways.
- Also, these trains will be operated by the driver and guard of Indian Railways.
Key Points:
On July 8, 2020, the request for qualification (RFQ) was circulated, which invited proposals from companies to run 151 modern passenger trains. It is likely to be finalised by November, 2020 while tenders will be finalised by March 2021 and trains will operate from March, 2023.
-The railways also has pre-specified penalties which will be recovered from the private players for failure to meet the prescribed performance standards and outcomes. Similarly, penalties will be pre-specified in the Concession Agreement for the failure on the part of the railways
-There would be a reduction in journey time by around 10-15% at 130 kmph and around 30% at 160 kmph.Â
-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.
Point to be noted:
The private player will pay the railways fixed haulage charges, energy charges as per actual consumption and a share in gross revenue. The railways is expected to receive total haulage charges of around Rs. 3,000 crore per annum from operation of these 151 trains.
About Indian Railways:
Headquarter– New Delhi
Operated by – Ministry of Railways
Railway Board Chairman– Vinod Kumar Yadav
Recent Related News:
On 11th June 2020, Indian railways created a benchmark by setting a new world history on the successful running of the first  Double-decker Container Train with a contact wire of 7.57-metre height on its high reach pantograph in the high rise Over Head Equipment (OHE) electrified territory on the western railway from Palanpur and Botad stations in Gujarat.
