Railways plans to invite private players to enter train operations, may submit detailed roadmap on Wednesday

New Delhi: Indian Railways is planning to invite private players enter into train operations through IRCTC, for which it is likely to  submit a detailed roadmap to Member Traffic/Railway Board on Wednesday, sources told Zee Media.

In a bid to provide better amenities and facilities to passengers, the Railway Ministry will lay out the terms and conditions before the Board in its roadmap.

The Ministry is currently looking at two major routes – Delhi -Lucknow and Delhi – Chandigarh, Zee Media has learnt.

The Ministry of Railways is planning to invite the private players through ticketing arm Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) that will include sections like cleaning, e-catering as well as ticketing.

The Railways has also set the target to make all the stations fully wi-fi equipped by the end of this year.

Ever since the Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power in 2014, there has been a lot of talks on private investments in the Railways. The move has however faced stiff opposition from several Railway unions, who represent close to 20 lakh employees of the state-run transporter.

But the Modi government has several times tried to allay the fear concerning Railway privatisation by saying that the government wants to get private participation but that does not mean it wants to privatise railway's operations.