Indian Railway Embarks On Privatisation Drive With ‘Tejas’

New Delhi: Despite opposition from the unions, Indian Railway has decided to hand over the operations of a premium train to private players.

The Tejas Express, that will boast of airline-like services for passenger comfort, will be the first train in the country to be operated by a private player. Running between Delhi and Lucknow, it could be on track within the next 100 days after it is handed over to the successful private bidder, said media reports.

This is the first time in the history of Indian Railway that passenger train services will be managed by private operators, while the critical running operations will continue to be looked after by the Railways.

Running a second Tejas train on another route with high congestion is also being explored, media quoted Railway officials as saying. However, this will be launched on an experimental basis, they said.

Railway unions, who have vociferously protested the move, maintained that it is yet another attempt to privatise Railway in the country.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also proposed to execute new projects and rolling stocks through private-public partnerships in her budget speech.

The privatisation proposals were among the recommendations of the Railway Board as part of the action plan for the first 100 days of the Narendra Modi 2.0 government.

The bidding process of Tejas Express will be carried out by the Railway PSU, IRCTC.

According to DNA, Niti Aayog pegs an earning of up to Rs 1000 crore for Indian Railway if it also considers leasing out its stadiums and other infrastructure in the country.