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151 Private Train Services over the 109 Pairs of Routes

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151 Private Train Services over the 109 Pairs of Routes

151 Private Train Services over the 109 Pairs of Routes-Railways Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

Ministry of Railways

Ministry of Railways invites Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private participation for operation of passenger train services over 109 Origin Destination (OD) pairs of routes

Routes for Privatization of Trains | Private Trains on Railway Routes

Indicative Routes for 12 (Twelve) Clusters identified for PPP in Passenger-Train Operations Project

Reference : RFQs uploaded on Central Procurement Portal on 01 July 2025

Cluster 1: Mumbai -1, Cluster 2: Mumbai -2, Cluster 3: Delhi -1, Cluster 4: Delhi -2, Cluster 5: Chandigarh, Cluster 6: Howrah, Cluster 7: Patna, Cluster 8: Prayagraj, Cluster 9: Secunderabad, Cluster 10: Jaipur, Cluster 11: Chennai, Cluster 12: Bengaluru

Cluster 1: Mumbai -1

  1. Varanasi-Mumbai-Varanasi – Click Here
  2. Kanpur-Mumbai-Kanpur – Click Here
  3. Howrah-Mumbai-Howrah – Click Here
  4. Nagpur-Mumbai-Nagpur – Click Here
  5. Kalburgi (Gulbarga)-Mumbai-Kalburgi (Gulbarga) – Click Here
  6. Madgaon-Mumbai-Madgaon – Click Here
  7. Nanded-Mumbai-Nanded – Click Here
  8. Mumbai-Nagpur-Mumbai – Click Here

Cluster 2: Mumbai -2

  1. New Delhi-Mumbai Central-New Delhi – Click Here
  2. Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Ahmedabad – Click Here
  3. Surat- Mumbai-Surat – Click Here
  4. Vadodara-Mumbai-Vadodara – Click Here
  5. Akola-Mumbai-Akola – Click Here
  6. Nandurbar-Mumbai-Nandurbar – Click Here
  7. Varanasi-Surat-Varanasi – Click Here
  8. Patna-Surat-Patna – Click Here
  9. Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi – Click Here
  10. Danapur-Indore-Danapur – Click Here
  11. Shirdi-Mumbai-Shirdi – Click Here
  12. Indore-Mumbai-Indore – Click Here

Cluster 3: Delhi -1

  1. New Rishikesh-New Delhi-New Rishikesh – Click Here
  2. Indore-Delhi-Indore – Click Here
  3. Varanasi-New Delhi-Varanasi – Click Here
  4. Darbhanga-Anand Vihar-Darbhanga – Click Here
  5. Badgam-Anand Vihar-Badgam – Click Here
  6. Lucknow-Delhi-Lucknow – Click Here
  7. Sabarmati-Delhi-Sabarmati – Click Here

Cluster 4: Delhi -2

  1. Udaipur-Delhi-Udaipur – Click Here
  2. Guwahati-Delhi-Guwahati – Click Here
  3. Barauni-Anand Vihar-Barauni – Click Here
  4. Pune-Delhi-Pune – Click Here
  5. Kathgodam-Delhi-Kathgodam – Click Here
  6. Jodhpur-Delhi-Jodhpur – Click Here

Cluster 5: Chandigarh

  1. Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi – Click Here
  2. New Delhi-Chandigarh-New Delhi – Click Here
  3. Chandigarh-New Delhi-Chandigarh – Click Here
  4. Lucknow-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Lucknow – Click Here
  5. Faizabad-Amritsar-Faizabad – Click Here
  6. Varanasi-Bhatinda-Varanasi – Click Here
  7. Nagpur-Chandigarh-Nagpur – Click Here
  8. Mumbai-Bhopal-Mumbai – Click Here
  9. Pune-Bhopal-Pune – Click Here

Cluster 6: Howrah

  1. Ranchi-Howrah-Ranchi – Click Here
  2. Pune-Howrah-Pune – Click Here
  3. Chennai-Howrah-Chennai – Click Here
  4. Howrah-Puri-Howrah – Click Here
  5. Puri-Howrah-Puri – Click Here
  6. Ranchi-Howrah-Ranchi – Click Here
  7. New Bongaigaon-Howrah-New Bongaigaon – Click Here
  8. Anand Vihar-Howrah-Anand Vihar – Click Here
  9. Varanasi-Howrah-Varanasi Via Patna – Click Here
  10. Guwahati-Sealdah-Guwahati – Click Here
  11. Bhagalpur-Howrah-Bhagalpur – Click Here

Cluster 7: Patna

  1. New Delhi-Patna-New Delhi – Click Here
  2. Anand Vihar-Gaya-Anand Vihar – Click Here
  3. Mumbai-Patna-Mumbai – Click Here
  4. Mumbai-Darbhanga-Mumbai – Click Here
  5. Guwahati-Darbhanga-Guwahati – Click Here
  6. Bangalore-Patna-Bangalore – Click Here
  7. Bangalore-Gorakhpur-Bangalore – Click Here
  8. Pune-Patna-Pune – Click Here
  9. Surat-Asansol-Surat – Click Here
  10. Puri-Asansol-Puri – Click Here

Cluster 8: Prayagraj

  1. Mumbai-Prayagraj-Mumbai – Click Here
  2. Ahmedabad-Prayagraj-Ahmedabad – Click Here
  3. Puri-Prayagraj-Puri – Click Here
  4. New Delhi-Kanpur-New Delhi – Click Here
  5. Ambala-Manduadih-Ambala – Click Here
  6. Pune-Prayagraj-Pune – Click Here
  7. Mumbai-Gorakhpur-Mumbai – Click Here
  8. Bangalore-Prayagraj-Bangalore – Click Here
  9. Pune-Dibrugarh-Pune – Click Here
  10. Agartala-Bhopal-Agartala – Click Here
  11. Agartala-Karimganj-Agartala – Click Here
  12. Rajkot-Bhopal-Rajkot – Click Here
  13. Mumbai-Jhansi-Mumbai – Click Here

Cluster 9: Secundrabad

  1. Srikakulam-Secundrabad-Srikakulam – Click Here
  2. Tirupati-Secundrabad-Tirupati – Click Here
  3. Guntur-Secundrabad-Guntur – Click Here
  4. Guntur-Kurnool-Guntur – Click Here
  5. Varanasi-Tirupati-Varanasi (Via Secundrabad) – Click Here
  6. Mumbai-Secundrabad-Mumbai – Click Here
  7. Mumbai-Aurangabad-Mumbai – Click Here
  8. Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada – Click Here
  9. Bangalore-Visakhapatnam-Bangalore (Via Renigunta) – Click Here
  10. Howrah-Secundrabad-Howrah – Click Here

Cluster 10: Jaipur

  1. Mumbai-Ajmer-Mumbai – Click Here
  2. Mumbai-Jaipur-Mumbai – Click Here
  3. Delhi-Ajmer-Delhi – Click Here
  4. Bangalore-Jaipur-Bangalore – Click Here
  5. Jaisalmer-Jaipur-Jaisalmer – Click Here
  6. SDVK-Jaipur-SDVK – Click Here
  7. Kota-Ajmer-Kota – Click Here
  8. Chennai-Jodhpur-Chennai – Click Here
  9. Sabarmati-Jodhpur-Sabarmati – Click Here

Cluster 11: Chennai

  1. Madurai-Chennai-Madurai – Click Here
  2. Mumbai-Chennai-Mumbai – Click Here
  3. Mangalore-Chennai-Mangalore – Click Here
  4. Secundrabad-Puducherry-Secundrabad (Via Chennai) – Click Here
  5. Coimbatore-Chennai-Coimbatore – Click Here
  6. Tirunelveli-Chennai-Tirunelveli – Click Here
  7. Coimbatore-Tirunelveli-Coimbatore – Click Here
  8. Tiruchchirapalli-Chennai-Tiruchchirapalli – Click Here
  9. Kanyakumari-Chennai-Kanyakumari – Click Here
  10. Ernakulam-Kanyakumari-Ernakulam – Click Here
  11. Delhi-Chennai-Delhi – Click Here
  12. Guwahati-Kochuveli-Guwahati – Click Here

Cluster 12: Bangalore

  1. Guwahati-Bangalore-Guwahati- Click Here
  2. Bhubaneswar-Mysuru-Bhubaneswar – Click Here
  3. Delhi-Bangalore-Delhi – Click Here
  4. Howrah-Bangalore-Howrah (via Dharmavaram) – Click Here
  5. Ranchi-Bangalore-Ranchi – Click Here

Read Also: 151 Private Train Services over the 109 Pairs of Routes

Salient features of the train are as under:

  • Complementary On board infotainment services will be available in IRCTC trains to the passengers.
  • High quality food and beverages will be provided to the passengers on board in the train and included in the ticket fare.
  • Service in the train will be done through trolleys similar to airlines. Each coach will be provided with RO water filter in addition to the packaged drinking water bottle for each passenger.
  • All passengers travelling on IRCTC train will be provided with Rail Travel Insurance of up to Rs. 25 Lakhs, free of cost by IRCTC. This complimentary travel insurance also includes an exclusive coverage of Rs. 1 lakh against household theft / robbery during the travel period of the passengers.
  • Besides, this special feature, in a first of its own, IRCTC will also pay a compensation of Rs. 100/- in case the train during its run, is delayed by more than one hour and Rs. 250/- in case of delay of more than two hours to every passenger as compensation.
  • In case of cancellation of train, automatic full refund of full fare on confirmed and /or waitlisted e-tickets will be made. There will be no need of cancelling the ticket or filing TDR in such case
  • There will be no tatkal quota or premium tatkal quota in the train. There will be only General Quota and Foreign Tourist Quota. Foreign Tourist Quota of 6 seats in EC and 12 seats in CC will be available for Foreign Tourists.

The booking for this train has commenced and passengers can book their tickets exclusively on IRCTC website www.irctc.co.in and its mobile app “IRCTC Rail Connect”. There will be no booking at railway reservation counters. The train will also be available for booking through IRCTC’s online travel portal partners.

More information visti to http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

Here’s a comprehensive overview of the 151 Private Train Services proposed over 109 OD (Origin-Destination) pairs under Indian Railways’ private sector participation initiative:

🚆 Background & Scope

  • On 8 July 2025, Indian Railways issued an RFQ (Request for Qualification) inviting private entities to operate 151 new passenger train services across 109 OD pairs, grouped into 12 clusters nationwide
  • These routes were selected where passenger demand outstripped capacity, especially on congested trunk corridors.
  • The trains are purely additional — they’ll be operated over and above existing IR services, not replacing any.

📋 Key Features & Commitments

  1. 12 Operational Clusters: Based in major zones like Delhi, Mumbai (2 clusters each), Howrah, Chennai, Bengaluru, Secunderabad, Patna, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Prayagraj.
  2. Minimum 16 coaches per train, with design speeds up to 160 km/h and journey times comparable or faster than existing fastest services.
  3. Concession period: ~35 years, under PPP. The private operator handles financing, procuring, operations & maintenance. Railways retains control of track access, scheduling, driver/guard, and safety clearance.
  4. Revenue model: Private players pay fixed haulage and energy charges plus a share of gross revenue via competitive bidding.

📉 Status & Challenges

  • As of March 2025, the project was placed on temporary hold due to low bidder response; only about three of the 12 clusters received any bids, mostly from IRCTC and Megha Engineering.
  • Although RFQ evaluations were completed in late 2025 (around 102 applicants deemed eligible), the railway ministry has since reinitiated the process, delaying RFP issuance and actual rollout.

📊 Projected Rollout Plan (Original)

Financial Year Planned Trains
FY 2025–24 12
FY 2025–25 45
FY 2025–26 50
FY 2026–27 44
Total 151

First services were expected by March 2025 and full commissioning by 2027.

💬 Public Insights (Reddit Commentary)

  • Some users raised concerns that only IRCTC and a few others responded, questioning the viability of “private” participation when a government-owned PSU like IRCTC dominated bids.
  • Discussions highlighted worries about fare affordability and service affordability for the middle/low-income segments, noting that private trains may charge a premium similar to airlines.

✅ At-a-Glance Summary

  • 151 proposed trains, over 109 OD pairs, across 12 clusters nationwide.
  • Entirely new services, not replacements of existing ones.
  • Introduced under PPP model with ₹30,000 cr investment expected.
  • Project delayed due to limited bidder interest—original target dates largely unmet.
  • IRCTC emerged as primary bidder, raising debate over “private sector” representation.

Would you like help with:

  • The list of OD routes and cluster compositions,
  • Status updates on ongoing RFP / tender stages,
  • A comparison of IRCTC-operated Tejas Express model vs. proposed private model?

Happy to provide more granular details!

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