Railways mulls private entities

Tribune news Service
New Delhi, January 18

From complete monopoly to having part competition, the Indian Railways may soon allow private players to run its passenger and freight operation, as a proposal in this regard is being considered by senior officials.

At an event organised by the Centre for Transportation Research and Management, Railway Board Member (Traffic) Girish Pillai said senior officials are currently discussing as to how to go about it. He said, "There have been many changes in train operations across the world and I think it's time that India should discuss the options of allowing private entities to operate passenger trains."

Pillai went on to add that the officials at Rail Bhawan and other experts are "currently deliberating whether they can be permitted to fix fares and construct terminals". He also said that there was a need to separate freight operations and passenger services.

A senior official said the aim is to "increase competition" in the sector, as private players can set up their own lines and can either themselves run trains or have other third party operators. "They will have to pay a small charge to Railways," he added.

The Railways currently allows private parties to run freight trains on its tracks, though operations of the trains are still in its hands. The national transport monolith also runs a few luxury tourist trains in joint venture with state governments.

Train 18 big draw 

Peru, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and some countries from the Middle East have expressed interest in importing the Indian Railways’ state-of-the-art Train 18. The train sets available worldwide cost around Rs 250 crore, while the Indian version manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, costs around Rs 100 crore. TNS