Private players will operate the 109 routes on the Indian Railway network. Credit: UY Scuti via Wikimedia.

The Indian Ministry of Railways has said that the proposed 151 trains to be operated by private players would exceed the already existing trains.

These trains aim to add more capacity to the routes, where the demand for trains is already higher than the current capacity.

Earlier this month, the ministry invited request for qualifications (RFQ) for private entities for passenger rail service operations for 151 new trains.

These trains will operate more than 109 origin-destination (OD) pairs of routes.

This project is expected to result in a private sector investment of Rs300bn ($3.98bn). This marks the first entry of private players to operate passenger trains over the Indian Railways network.

This initiative is expected to introduce modern rolling stock that requires less maintenance, decreases transit time, increases job creation and offers enhanced safety.

To be manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ scheme, the trains will also offer an improved travel experience and reduce the demand-supply deficit.

The interested parties will have to undergo a bidding process with two stages, namely RFQ and request for proposal (RFP).

The RFQ process will be used for the pre-qualification and shortlisting of the bidders based on the financial capacity.

The shortlisted bidders will have to provide the share in the gross revenue during the RFP stage for the project.

Indian Railways will receive payment from the private companies for fixed haulage charges, actual consumption energy charges and a share in gross revenue, which will be determined via a transparent bidding process.