Tag: New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express

As Buzz Builds Around IRCTC’s Tejas Express, Will Privatisation Take Wing?

The national transporter is in the process of finalising bidding documents for inviting private players to run about 150 trains.

New Delhi: Buoyed by the successful run of the first ‘corporate’ train between Delhi and Lucknow, the Indian Railways has received strong interest from the private sector even as various unions continue to oppose the plan.

According to sources in the national transporter, at least three Indian airlines have also expressed initial interest in bidding and operating certain train routes as a possible last-mile connectivity solution that they can offer their customers.

Much of this excitement is due to the initial demand that the IRCTC-operated Tejas Express has been attracting. The next Tejas service, which will run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, is currently getting ready.

Reeling under mounting losses, the Indian Railways has firmed up plans to offer about 50 high demand routes for private train operations, in a move that will involve roughly 150 trains.

The Railways wants to lease out to private operators a number of long distance or overnight journey trains. These include routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Lucknow, Delhi-Jammu/Katra, Delhi-Howrah, Secunderabad-Delhi, Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Chennai, Howrah-Chennai and Howrah-Mumbai.

It has also proposed to invite private players for the intercity express on over 12 routes including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Pune journeys. Besides this, there are also proposals to operate suburban trains in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderabad by private players.

Currently, the national transporter is in the process of finalising bidding documents to invite private players to run about 150 trains. The cost of these 150 trains is estimated to be Rs 22,500 crore as one rake will consist of 16 coaches.

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It will be decided through competitive bidding and for this, the tender document is being finalised taking various factors into account, sources told The Wire. The process envisages prospective operators bidding for a minimum of 12 trains and a maximum of 50 trains, which include overnight and day-long trains.

Asked about airlines’ interest in train operation, sources told that some airlines are exploring acquiring certain train routes as a last-mile connectivity solution to increase the demand for their air routes. There is also a possibility that some players may discontinue their non-profitable air routes and focus on train routes instead.

In countries abroad, some airlines have chosen to do this, although its unclear whether the precarious financial health of the aviation sector in India will permit such an endeavour.

“Currently nothing is concrete. Once the tender is floated, the picture will be clear and we will come to know who all are coming,” sources added.

When asked, Indian Railways spokesman K. Shyama Prasad said that the ministry had no information on this and that there would be more meetings before anything is finalised. n it.

According to the potential tender conditions though, private operators will be given freedom to either purchase new trains or acquire it from the Railways on lease. Since this is the first time in the country that the public transporter is allowing private train operators to run passenger services, the government is approaching the final process with caution. 

While private players are keen to import customised trains and are seeking dedicated routes to ensure punctuality, the Railways has to take a final call on the issue.

However, the national transporter will still be in control on the safety front, giving away only pricing decision to private train operators.

While the signalling system, loco pilots and platform will remain with the Railways, catering, onboard housekeeping, ticket pricing and checking, infotainment and other amenities will be the train operator’s responsibility.

IRCTC, the Railways subsidiary, which was being divested of 12.5% of its shares through an IPO, will pay nearly Rs 13 lakh per day in haulage and lease charges and is expected to generate about Rs 16 lakh to 17 lakh per day in revenue from the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express.

Arun Kumar Das is a senior journalist and can be contacted at akdas2005@gmail.com

IRCTC Readies Fare Strategy For First Train Route Under Railways ‘Privatisation’ Plan

As part of its attempt to encourage privatisation in the national transporter, the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be IRCTC’s first route to offer dynamic pricing.

New Delhi: The New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express, India’s first attempt at ‘privatising’ its railway routes, will not have a fixed fare but instead offer dynamic pricing that competes with air travel.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the government would hand over custody of the train to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a railways public sector unit PSU, as part of its attempt to encourage privatisation in the national transporter.

According to sources, IRCTC will pay nearly Rs 13 lakh per day in haulage and lease charges and is expected to generate about Rs 16 lakh to 17 lakh per day in revenue.

The handing over of the Lucknow-Tejas’s operations is part of the Narendra Modi government’s 100-day action plan. Its success, government sources say, is crucial as it would pave the way for handing over about 100 more trains to private players for which a policy is currently being formulated.

The broader proposal for the privatisation of the Indian Railways has sparked protests across the country by worker unions.

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While giving IRCTC custody of the train can’t strictly be called privatisation, the idea is to hand over two routes as a pilot project whereby on-board services would be outsourced to private players through an open bidding process.

The larger proposed policy would allow private players control over 25 routes, including metros and regional hubs.

Sources say that the policy currently in the making envisages private players to bring in their own rakes or acquire trains on long lease from the Railways to run across the country. Currently the Railways has 2,800 rakes, of which a minimum of 5% is being considered to be offered on lease to private players.

However, the core function of train running such as drivers, guards, tracks, signalling, train charting and safety will remain with the national transporter. On the other hand, ticket pricing, catering, onboard housekeeping, linens, ticket checking and amenities will be the responsibility of the private operator.

First pilot 

While the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be IRCTC’s first route, another one will be shortly allotted. The railway PSU is also in negotiation with Uttar Pradesh government over showcasing its welfare programmes and the state’s tourist spots as advertisements.

The 13-coach Tejas Express for Lucknow will have an assured path to reach destinations on time, with just one stop at Kanpur.

Sources say that there will also be a provision for offering a free meal to passengers in case the train is delayed by more than 30 minutes.

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The train, which has about 1,000 seats currently, will also add another 500 gradually with the additional of five more coaches.

Besides quality catering, the train will offer door-to-door service, specially designed board room cabin for meeting, birthday or marriage anniversary parties and shopping trolleys for buying goods like chocolates and perfume among many other services as a package to attract clients.

“We will try to cater to passengers whatever is legally allowed onboard,” a source involved in finalising the details told The Wire.

If a passenger wants to be picked up from his residence and also dropped at his destination, he would have to pay for all additional services. The train will also have welcome service as all passengers would be received and ushered in to their respective seats. There will also be private ticket-checking staff.

Currently more than 50 trains – including a Shatabdi service – and about 30 flights are operational between New Delhi and Lucknow. The two cities are also connected by a well-built highway that facilitates road connectivity.

Though the Tejas Express ticket will be less than equivalent airfare, it will be difficult for IRCTC to depend on just fare collection. That is why we are exploring various ways to attract passengers, sources said and added if everything goes as per the plan then it could achieve break-even in three years.

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The Tejas Express will have modern facilities such as aircraft-like personalised LCD entertainment-cum-information screens, on-board Wi-Fi facility, comfortable seats, mobile charging points, personalised reading lights, modular bio-toilets and sensor tap fittings among others.

The train will take approximately six-and-a-half hours to cover the distance between Delhi and Lucknow and it will run on all days of the week except Thursday and Sunday.

The Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express will leave the Lucknow junction at 6.50 am to reach New Delhi at 1.35 pm. The New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will leave from New Delhi station at 3.35 pm to arrive in Lucknow at 10.05 pm.

Arun Kumar Das is a senior journalist and can be contacted at akdas2005@gmail.com.