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Plans for the introduction of the private sector in Railways: 24 trains in Chennai sector included!
Posted on: 04/Jul/2020 2:48:34 PM
As per the plan to introduce the private sector in the Railways to operate on 109 routes, the Central Ministry of Railways has commenced all related activities in order to invite proposals/applications for the same from the eligible organizations.
The 109 rail routes as mentioned above have been divided into 12 groups. Out of these, 24 are for the Chennai group.
Meanwhile, the Railways Employees Union has commented that 19,000 Railway employees are likely to lose their jobs because of the above privatization proposal.
The Central Government had already decided to permit the private sector in the Railways. As a part of this, the Central Ministry of Railways has initiated activities to permit the private sector to operate some passenger trains. The Department of Railways expects that with the introduction of the private sector in this avenue, the infrastructure of the entire Railways Department will improve further.
In this situation, with a plan to allow the private sector to operate in 109 routes, the Central Ministry of Railways has initiated the related activities to enable the private sector to quote/participate. 109 routes have been divided into 12 groups. Out of these, 24 groups are for Chennai.
224 trains are proposed to be operated in the above 109 routes allotted for the private sector. The project value is estimated at Rs. 30,000 Crores. This will be the 1st instance of the Central Ministry of Railway permitting the private sector in this field.
The announcement regarding this was released on the web site of the Central government’s Electronic Contracts on 1st July. The auction will be conducted for the sales of trains for 35 years. The 12 groups are Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi (2), Howrah, Jaipur, Mumbai (2), Patna, Prayagraj, Bangalore, and Secunderabad. Prices will be fixed and announced separately each fort the above 12 groups. It has been emphasized that each train must have 16 coaches. The financial capability analysis and the final auction will be conducted in 2 stages.
The 24-trains allotted for Chennai Group
Chennai-Madurai, Chennai-Mumbai, Chennai-Mangalore, Puducherry-Secunderabad, Chennai-Coimbatore, Thirunelveli=Chennai, Thirunelveli-Coimbatore, Chennai-Trichy, Chennai-Kanyakumari, Ernakulam-Kanyakumari, Chennai-Delhi, Kochuveli-Guwahati. 24 trains are to be operated including both the to and return trips from the stations mentioned above. In the whole of India, the Chennai Group is estimated at the highest cost of Rs. 3221 Crores.
At the starting juncture, it has been organized to engage loco-pilots and guards.
Permission will be given for booking of the privatete sector train tickets at the IRCTC counters. Deluxe trains with 16 to 24 coached may be operated.
The private sector has been given the authority to fix the ticket prices. Apart from this, permission to charge as per the seats, the permission to take parcels and luggage, the permission for the advertisements in the coaches, maintenance of the railway yards, are all featured in the auction to be conducted. This auction will be on an international level. So, in this auction, apart from the Indian organizations, companies from countries such as Sweden, Japan, China, and Germany may participate in the auction.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Southern Railway Employees’ Association, Manoharan shared in this regard:
“The Travel Ticket Examiners, workmen for a/c repairs, engine drivers, guards, mechanics employed in the linking of coaches, etc., totaling about 18,000 employees are likely to lose their jobs immediately. There will be no travel concessions in private sector operations. During a year, around 8,85 Crores passengers’ reservations are not confirmed. In order to fix higher prices, additional trains were not being operated and announcements on this were being made as per demands. The plan to involve the private sector to operate trains on important routes and the important train is a step in the wrong direction which will destroy the department of railways. So, the central government must give this effort up!”
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