The railways is re-evaluating the ongoing bidding process for the Rs 30,000 crore private passenger trains after it failed to receive any interest from private players for its tender floated last year for the operation of such trains in 12 clusters, senior officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Of the 12 clusters put up for bidding, only three saw any bid at all, they said. "The entire process of inviting tenders for the private passenger train operations is being reevaluated. The present process bids may or may not be scrapped after the review is complete," an official said.
During the Request for Qualification (RFQ) last year, 16 private sector firms showed interest in the project. GMR Highways Ltd, IRCTC, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, Cube Highways and Infrastructure, and CAF India Private Ltd were some of the major firms that evinced interest in the project.
It was in July last year that the Ministry of Railways rolled out bids for private participation in passenger train operations in twelve clusters across the country. The plan included 109 origin-destination pairs. Winning bidders were to be provided a concession period of 35 years on a revenue basis model.
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