Privatisation of the railways will create a win-win situation for both the Indian railways as well as the investors, and also the users, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said during addressing a joint press meet, along with Railway Board chairman VK Yadav.
“It is like when private banks were set up in India. So many private players came in the banking sector. But that didn’t lead SBI to shut. Private investment will bring in newer technologies. It will create competition in the railway sector. Competition will increase efficiency and reduce fare — in the long run,” Kant said.
On airport-like user charge to be raise for re-developed of railway stations, Railway Board chairman VK Yadav said the charge. Which will translate to a hike in railway fare, and will be nominal.
“The user charge will be nominal. Also, the charge will be applicable only for redeveloped stations. Not all stations are being redeveloped at present,” Yadav said.
“We’re looking at 109 Origin Destination pairs, divided into 12 clusters requiring 151 trains. They’re being taken up for transparent competitive bidding and some most attractive routes which are based on huge unmet demand, will be put out to run premium passenger services,” NITI Aayog’s CEO said.
However, Indian Railways confirmed that the first set of 12 private trains will be introduced in 2023, followed by 45 more in the next fiscal, according to an initial timeline drawn by the railways which plans to roll out all 151 such train services by 2027.
