Corporate players keen to run the first batch of private trains no longer need to have prior experience in running trains, railways, airport, ports, hotels, airlines, shipping and travel and tourism sectors, according to the revised qualifying bids released by the Indian Railways on July 1. This clause is a deviation from the qualifying requirements that were part of a January 2020 draft document seeking bids that mandated players to have experience in either or a mix of these sectors.

They also do not need to have experience in construction, manufacturing of works, rail track equipment, overhead electrical equipment, signalling, rolling stock, operating trains and metros, suburban transit system, high-speed railways and associated projects or businesses.

Move to attract more players

These requirements have been done away with to attract more players to run trains and increase competition. “This revised qualifying document of July has been made based on the feedback from potential bidders on the draft document issued in January this year,” said an official, adding that the qualifying conditions in the draft document were perceived as too stringent.

“Many players were interested but with those pre-conditions, very few made the cut to operate the trains. This prompted us to revise the pre-requisites,” he added.

Now, the qualifying bids have been tweaked to attract players with enough funds, who can then tie-up with companies that have modern technology.

Companies that have previously shown interest in the project include players such as Alstom, Bombardier, Adani Ports and SEZ, Tata, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (the company that had provided trainsets for Airport Metro Express Line in Delhi), among others.

The consortium that operates the train is expected to have the ability make such trains or tie-up with companies to have Metro-rail like coaches (without separate locomotives like Train 18used in Vande Bharat Express) for broad gauge network in India and maintain them as well. Companies with capacity to make such broad-gauge coaches include Bombardier that has supplied broad gauge coaches to Delhi Metro, apart from Railways’ production units.

Investment sought

Railways expects an investment of ₹30,000 crore from the operators of these modern coaches. “This cost may go up in future,” said multiple sources.

While welcoming the Railways’ move to do away with the strict criteria, an industry official said that it is still a very complex project when seen from a bidder’s perspective, more so with the Railways adding the Make in India clause, which mandates domestic sourcing norms.

The demand for train travel post-Covid-19 is likely to be cautious as people will travel only when they are assured that they are safe, reckon industry members. They worry that the pandemic may change travel dynamics, and much of it remains unpredictable as of today. “The present traffic numbers of Railways stated in the document indicate the overall unmet demand that Indian Railways saw in terms of wait-listed tickets. But post-Covid-19, people will be concerned about their safety and weigh travel choices from a safety and affordability perspective,” said an industry executive.

Another challenge cited by the industry was the lack of precedence in private firms maintaining coaches for long-term. “A successful case study of coaches being maintained for long term in private Metro rail operations is yet to be seen in India,” said another industry executive.

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