There is no proposal to privatise the Indian Railways (IR). However, it is estimated that Indian Railways would need capital investment of ₹ 50 lakh crores up to the year 2030 for network expansion and capacity augmentation, rolling stock induction and other modernization works to enable better delivery of passenger and freight services and to improve its modal share in transport. To bridge the gap in Capital Funding and bring in modern technology and efficiencies, it is planned to use Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in few initiatives including induction of modern rakes to run passenger trains on select routes with an objective to provide improved service delivery to passengers. However, the work of train operations and safety certification will continue to be with Indian Railways in all such cases.

The existing passenger train services shall not be affected by the operation of passenger train services in PPP mode. The train services to be operated in PPP mode shall be additional trains, aimed at increasing the availability of train services to the public. The operator selected through a transparent bidding process shall be entitled to collect fare from the passenger based on market conditions commensurate with the level of services provided by him.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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