Rs 7200 crore project! Railways opens bid for private players; IRCTC, MEIL participate in the bidding process

Indian Railways has opened bids (RFPs) for Private Train Project from today, July 23, 2021.  This is part of the Indian government's plan to privatise certain section of the railways. 

The railways has received bids for three Clusters - Mumbai 2, Delhi 1, and Delhi 2.

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The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures (MEIL) are bidding for the Railways private player project. 

These three clusters would entail around 30 pairs of train services and an investment of around Rs 7,200 crore. 

According to sources, about 30 pairs of private train services (60 trains) will be started in three clusters.

Tejas, the first private train in the country, was started in 2019. The first Tejas Express was started on the New Delhi-Lucknow route. Tejas is operated by the subsidiary of the Railways, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).  

Indian Railways had extended the last date for submission of financial bids in the Rs 30,000-crore private train operation project from 30 March 2021 to 30 June 2021. This was after it witnessed the demand of the private players. 

This extension by the railways was for the second time, as earlier it extended the submission date from January 31 to March 30 in the first-of-its-kind rail project in the country.