Railway Zones Asked To Identify Routes That Can Be Run By Private Operators
Private operators would be identified through a participative bid process to run passenger trains.
The Railway Board has asked its different zones to identify potentially-viable and operationally-feasible routes for the introduction of privately-operated passenger trains.
The Railway Board has given an indicative list to all the zones, enumerating 24 routes that have the potential of being operated by private players, in a letter dated Sept. 23.
The indicative list identified by the Railway Board for private train operation includes intercity, long-distance and suburban routes. The railways has asked the zones to identify the routes by Friday, when a meeting will be held with the Member Traffic on the issue.
The Railway Board has said that private operators would be identified through a participative bid process to run private passenger day/overnight trains that would connect important cities.
On Monday, the railways notified that the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be operational from Oct. 5. This is the first train that will be fully run by the railways' subsidiary, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, and is the national transporter's first step towards privatising operations of some trains.
