Private Train Operations: GMR, IRCTC, BHEL, L&T Among 15 RFQ Applicants

The Ministry of Railways has received 120 submissions from 15 applicants in response to the Private Train Operation project Request For Qualification (RFQ).

Indian Railways plans to allow private operators to run 140 trains from 12 clusters on its network. These clusters are centred around key urban that witness heavy passenger traffic.

Selection of private operators is to be done through a two stage bidding process. The second stage of the process is a Request For Proposal (RFP) from the qualifying parties from the RFQ stage.

The Ministry of Railways will now evaluate the various applications. Qualifying applicants will be moved to the Request For Proposal process by November 2020. All clusters are likely to be awarded by February 2021.

RFQ Applications Received For Private Train Operations Per Cluster

SN	Cluster Name	Number of RFQs received
1	Mumbai 1	9
2	Mumbai 2	12
3	Delhi 1	10
4	Delhi 2	12
5	Chandigarh	9
6	Howarh	9
7	Patna	9
8	Prayagraj	10
9	Secunderabad	10
10	Jaipur	10
11	Chennai	9
12	Bengaluru	11
	Total	120

Participants Applying for Operating Private Trains on Indian Railways

SN	Applicant’s Name
1	Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited
2	Sainath sales and Services Pvt Ltd
3	IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited
4	Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation LImited
5	GMR Highways Limited
6	Welspun Enterprises Limited
7	Gateway Rail freight Limited
8	Cube Highways and Infrastructure III Pvt Ltd
9	Malempati Power Private Limited
10	L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited
11	RK Associates and Hoteliers Pvt Ltd
12	Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarrriles, S.A
13	PNC Infratech Ltd
14	Arvind Aviation
15	BHEL