Pvt. train ops likely by April 2023: Railways

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Private train operations in the country will begin by April 2023, and the ticket fares in these trains will be competitive with airfares on similar routes, the Railways said Thursday. Addressing a press conference online, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said that private players in passenger train operations will mean a quantum jump in technology and coaches that run at higher speeds.

The improvement in technology will also mean that the coaches that now require maintenance after running 4,000 km, will need maintenance after every 40,000-km, that is either once or twice a month, he said.  His statement came a day after the Railways formally kickstarted its plans to allow private entities to operate passenger trains on its network by inviting request for qualifications for participation on 109 pairs of routes through 151 modern trains.

Allaying fears that the Railways network was being handed over to private parties, Yadav told the Thursday press conference that private participation in passenger train operations will only be five per cent of the existing 2800 Mail/ Express trains over IR.