Railways reworks on bidding contracts for operating express trains

20 Aug 2021 CW Team

The Indian Railways has begun reworking the Business model contract document for its ambitious rail project.

The ministry is deciding bids from only two firms, including a railway PSU, who submitted tenders for a couple of hubs out of 12.

However, the media reports said that bidding might be cancelled, a final decision is yet to come.

The previous year, the railways revealed that they received a powerful response to its proposals to run 151 such private trains from 12 hubs, but at last, it only got two bids.

IRCTC and Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) submitted bids for running trains in Delhi and Mumbai sectors. The bidding procedure would have been cancelled if there was no bid from IRCTC.

According to the media sources, the business model is reworking now to draw more private players. The changes include a decrease in the lease period, revising revenue sharing and the haulage charge. The railway ministry can provide relief in the norms for acquiring rolling stock and fare revision schedules.

Under this scheme, the private members would acquire trains and have the independence to fix the train fare. The railways recognised 109 high demand routes over the country, operating 151 private trains for a 35 years contract.

It has managed that the current passenger train services would not have any impact by the operation of train services via Public-private partnership (PPP) mode, and these would be in addition to the current train services.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the new Railway Minister, directed the officials to find out the reasons why private players did not want to make a bid.

Officials informed that it is up to the bidding committee to take the ultimate call on whether the railways may cancel the tender or not.

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Also read: Godrej, Indian Railways tie-up for quicker assembling of coaches

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The Indian Railways has begun reworking the Business model contract document for its ambitious rail project. The ministry is deciding bids from only two firms, including a railway PSU, who submitted tenders for a couple of hubs out of 12. However, the media reports said that bidding might be cancelled, a final decision is yet to come. The previous year, the railways revealed that they received a powerful response to its proposals to run 151 such private trains from 12 hubs, but at last, it only got two bids. IRCTC and Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) submitted bids for running trains in Delhi and Mumbai sectors. The bidding procedure would have been cancelled if there was no bid from IRCTC. According to the media sources, the business model is reworking now to draw more private players. The changes include a decrease in the lease period, revising revenue sharing and the haulage charge. The railway ministry can provide relief in the norms for acquiring rolling stock and fare revision schedules. Under this scheme, the private members would acquire trains and have the independence to fix the train fare. The railways recognised 109 high demand routes over the country, operating 151 private trains for a 35 years contract. It has managed that the current passenger train services would not have any impact by the operation of train services via Public-private partnership (PPP) mode, and these would be in addition to the current train services. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the new Railway Minister, directed the officials to find out the reasons why private players did not want to make a bid. Officials informed that it is up to the bidding committee to take the ultimate call on whether the railways may cancel the tender or not. Image Source Also read: Godrej, Indian Railways tie-up for quicker assembling of coaches

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