Several private players are eyeing the proposed private trains on Mumbai and Delhi routes. In all, 120 applications have been received for the 12 clusters, from 15 applicant firms including 21 applications for the Mumbai clusters.
According to sources, trains proposed under other clusters Delhi-Patna-Pryagraj and Chennai connecting Mumbai are also high in demand. Twenty-two applications were received for Delhi clusters.
Apart from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, Spanish train maker Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles is among the 15 companies that have submitted applications to run private trains in Asia’s oldest rail network.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, Sainath Sales and Services Pvt Ltd, IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited, GMR Highways Limited, Welspun Enterprises Limited, Gateway Rail freight Limited, Cube Highways and Infrastructure III Pvt Ltd, Malempati Power Private Limited, L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited, RK Associates and Hoteliers Pvt Ltd and PNC Infratech Ltd Arvind Aviation the other bidders that have filed an application for running private trains in India.
On October 7, the Indian Railways had opened the applications submitted by various entities in response to the request for qualifications (RFQ) for PPP (public-private partnership) in passenger train operations project. The RFQ for 12 clusters were published on July 1, 2020
The ministry of railways had invited RFQ for private participation in operation of passenger train services comprising 140 origin destination pair of routes through introduction of 151 modern trains to increase high-quality trains operated on the network.
“This is the first major initiative of attracting private investment for running passenger trains over Indian Railway network. The project is expected to entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore,” said an officer of Indian Railways.
The railway ministry will expeditiously complete the evaluation of applications, and RFP documents would be made available to the qualified applicants by November 2020, said a railway officer, who is a member of the team dealing with this project. The railway has targeted to award all the clusters by February, 2021.
“It’s a paradigm shift wherein we expect modern technology, potential to meet huge demand in seat reservation and a win-win situation for railways and private entities,” Shivaji Sutar, CPRO Cenral Railway, said.
Source: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/private-trains-max-applications-for-mumbai-and-delhi-routes/articleshow/78564351.cms
