Railways reevaluates bidding process worth Rs 30,000

The Indian Railways is reevaluating the ongoing bidding process for private passenger trains worth Rs 30,000 crore. They are doing it because the bidding failed to earn the interest of private players for the tender floated the previous year to operate such train services in 12 clusters across the rail network. As per the senior officials quoted in a PTI report, only three of the 12 clusters witnessed a bid. An official told the media that the tenders of the current process may or may not be discarded post the review. The Railway Minister opened bids for the private players to participate in operations of passenger trains in twelve clusters in July last year. The plan included 109 origin-destination pairs, and also the winning bidders were provided with a 35-year concession period on a revenue basis model. Overall, 16 private sector companies expressed their interest in the private train project during RFP last year. This number decreased significantly in the recent RFP stage (financial bidding), with only two bidders stepping forward. As indicated by the sources quoted in the report, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited were the only companies that submitted bids for three clusters, while all other bidder firms withdrew, mentioning the concession rules favouring the national transporter. Initially, the Indian Railways planned to launch private train services in phases, with the first dozen of trains due to begin operating in the financial year 2023-24 and the remaining 151 trains by 2027 in July last year. Currently, the Minister of Railways went back to the drawing board to chalk out the procedures of the entire project from scratch. Image Source Also read: Railways reworks on bidding contracts for operating express trains