Indian Railways Opens Bid for Operating 29 Trains in Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways has said that it has opened bids for operating 29 pairs of trains in public-private partnership (PPP) with around 40 modern rakes entailing an investment of Rs 7,200 crore.

A railway spokesperson on Friday said that after detailed exercise and multiple rounds of discussion with the industry players, the bids for PPP in the passenger train operations project were opened on Friday.

"This is an entirely new attempt to bring world-class trains through PPP in India," he said.

"The Ministry of Railways will expeditiously complete the evaluation and decide the bids," he added.

Earlier, the maiden run of two Vistadome coaches attached to Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur Weekly Express Special was flagged off on Sunday, July 11.

According to reports, Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel gave the green signal on its first maidan run. Meanwhile, bookings for these coaches for the maiden run have reached the wait-list within two days.

However, rail patrons are unable to book advance tickets from Mangaluru Junction from July 12 onwards on the IRCTC portal.

There were technical glitches and they will soon be rectified, clarified Palakkad Division's spokesperson M.K. Gopinath. Bookings were available from Yeshwantpur's end nevertheless and about 42 seats have been booked for the maiden journey from Yeshwantpur on July 12.

The first of its kind service in South India, Vistadome coaches are being introduced by the Ministry of Railways to promote tourism. The two tri-weekly and one weekly day train services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru traverse through the enchanting Western Ghats via the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section. The scenic section offers breathtaking glimpses of lofty mountains, ravishing valleys, deep gorges, lush greenery, streams, rivers, and tunnels of the Western Ghats. The region blooms in monsoon with added beauty.

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