India News | Bids Open for Public-private Partnership in Passenger Train Operations

New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Bids for a public-private partnership (PPP) in passenger train operations project opened Friday, the Railways said, adding both public and private entities have shown interest, a statement said.

"After detailed exercise and multiple rounds of discussion with the industry players, the bids for PPP in Passenger Train Operations project are opened on July 23, 2021. This is an entirely new attempt to bring world class trains through Public Private Participation (PPP) in India," the statement said.

The Ministry of Railways has received bids from both private and public sectors to operate 29 pairs of trains with around 40 modern rakes entailing an investment of around Rs 7200 crores, it said.

"The Ministry of Railways will expeditiously complete the evaluation and decide the bids," it said.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Friday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the railways has invited bid for private participation to induct 151 trains (rakes) over 12 clusters through PPP mode.

The minister said that due the lack of capacity, nearly 5 crore dropped waiting list passengers were observed in 2019-20. To meet this gap, the railways is already increasing production of Vande Bharat, Tejas, LHB, Vistadome etc types of coaches in trains.

He further mentioned that the existing passenger train services will not be affected by the operations through PPP mode which will be add-ons.

"The operational infrastructure like track, signaling, Over Head Equipment (OHE), stations etc will remain with Indian Railways and will be used to run these trains. The Crew (Drivers and Guards) required for operation of trains through PPP mode shall be provided by Indian Railways, which shall make Railway employee a vital part of PPP in passenger train operations project," Vaishnaw added.

These trains shall offer services better than existing Rajdhani/Shatabdi types of trains which will include improved passenger comfort, efficient air conditioning with automatic temperature and humidity control, superior interiors and toilets, friendly access to differently abled (Divyangjan) passengers, GPS-enabled passenger announcement system for on-board announcements for station arrivals, safety announcements etc.

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