An indicative list of over 100 origin-destination pairs for operation of passenger train services by the private entities, under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, has been uploaded on the websites of NITI Aayog and Indian Railways, along with the draft Request for Qualification and draft Concession Agreement, for seeking comments from stake holders.

Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is operating Tejas Express train on the New Delhi-Lucknow sector w.e.f. 04.10.2019. During the period 04.10.2019 to 31.10.2019, IRCTC has earned an approximate amount of ₹ 7.73 lakh, as operational earning, by operation of the said Tejas Express.

Indian Railways offers various kinds of train services to cater to the need of a diverse set of passengers. Trains like Gatimaan Express, Vande Bharat Express, etc. are provided with augmented facilities and are popular among the premium segment. Trains like Rajdhani Express, Duronto Express, Shatabdi Express etc. offer fully reserved accommodation and facilitate the long distance and inter-city passengers. Further, other Mail Express trains and Antyodaya train are operated for the benefit of general passengers including those travelling on unreserved tickets. The fare of Sleeper and Second Class is highly subsidised and as a part of its Social Service Obligation, fare concessions are offered to various categories like Senior citizens, freedom fighters, Students, Divyangjans etc. even in the reserved classes. Consequently, on an average, Indian Railways recovers only 57% of cost of travel. The scope and scale of trains operated over Indian Railways, which carries about 23 million passengers on a daily basis cannot currently be compared with the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express being operated by IRCTC, in which fare is generally higher as compared to similar services on Indian Railways and no concession is admissible. However, systemic improvements over Indian Railways is a continuous and an ongoing process.

This press release is based on information 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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