Indian Railways extends bidding process in Private Player Train project for 1 month

The bidding process for Private Player Train project has been extended for one month. The bids which were earlier to be handed over by the private player till September 8 has now been extended to October 7.

The bidding process for Private Player Train project has been extended for one month. The bids which were earlier to be handed over by September 8 has now been extended to October 7.

On August 12, the private companies involved in the second pre-bid meeting for the private player train project had asked for more time for the bid, and requested to extend the date of bidding from September 8.

In response to this, the Indian Railways took a decision on August 21 and considering the appeal, the bidding date has been increased by 1 month.

Atleast 23 private companies participated in the second and final pre-bid meeting and expressed interest in the private player train project.

This is the first initiative of private investment for running Passenger Trains over Indian Railways Network. The project would entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore. The national transporter plans to run the first private train by April 2023.  

The first round of pre-bid meeting was very successful with as many as 16 prospective applicants or private players participating. These included: GMR Group, PSUs, BHEL, RITES, IRCTC, Bombardier, Medha Engineering, Bharat Forge, Gateway Rail and even Australian firm CAF. 

The initiative is towards improving the availability of transportation services to the people of the nation, introduce modern technology rolling stock, boost job opportunities and new services that would improve the overall travel experience of passengers. The government believes that multiple operators in train operations will create competition and improve service delivery.