Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Indian Railways' wholly-owned listed subsidiary, is eyeing partnerships to offset recurring costs incurred in train operations, which is part of its two-year-old diversification from core catering and ticketing businesses. To this end, it is courting public sector undertakings such as Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and others to create a special purpose vehicle for the routes for which IRCTC has bid. The Railway ministry opened bids for public private partnerships in passenger train operations in July 2021 and received bids to operate 29 pairs of trains with around 40 modern rakes that would entail an investment of Rs 7,200 crore.
Under the plan, there will be 151 private trains covering 109 routes which may entail investments worth Rs 30,000 crore.
Wielding a broom, the prime minister took part in the drive along with fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuriya.
The sector is witnessing weak tendering.
PSUs under the railways ministry include Ircon International, a turnkey infrastructure construction company; Railtel (telecom); Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Company; and Rites, a consultancy, engineering and project management firm.
Union minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday announced a cash reward of Rs 1.30 crore for 10 members of the Indian women's cricket, who are employed with the Indian Railways.
A notification issued by the railway board in the evening said new fares would come into effect from May 5.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday started its investigation into alleged criminal negligence leading to the Balasore train accident which claimed 278 lives after registering a first information report (FIR), officials said.
In the third reshuffle since coming to power, Prime Minister Modi raised the strength of his Council of Ministers from 73 to 76.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the attendees of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi with his speech being translated for the audience in real-time using artificial intelligence.
The aim is to reduce working expense by about 15 per cent.
On an annual basis, we'll seek out solutions to Indian Railways' most critical problems through 'innovation challenge': Suresh Prabhu
Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said the Centre was seeking private capital investment in cash-strapped Railways to meet the resource crunch and it does not amount to privatisation as the Railways unions claim.
'Indian Railways will run 200 non-AC trains daily as per the time table from June 1 for which online booking will start soon,' Goyal said in a tweet. He also said that within the next two days Indian Railways will double the number of Shramik Special Trains to 400 per day.
Prabhu said the Ministry was preparing a plan till 2030.
Officials in the railway ministry are discussing a proposal by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to cut the premium on Tatkal (instant) tickets and reduce its booking period to give the railway budget an aam aadmi touch.
Indian Railways has tied up funds for the next two years for its ambitious modernisation programme.
Cleanliness of stations will be rated as per certain parameters finalised by the Railways.
Almost 25 per cent central government posts were vacant as of March 2022, compared to 9.4 per cent in March 2002.
'We don't know how and why this happened as the route interlock signal works fine millions of times every day across India.'
Sule, citing Railway Ministry documents, said the largest number of Shramik Special trains -- 1033 -- were operated from Gujarat, followed by Maharashtra (817) and Punjab (429).
After bumbling for years since 2014, the Modi government seems to believe that massive government expenditure will lead us to prosperity supported by 'seat-of-the-pants' decision-making, observes Debashis Basu.
'The Railway Board -- and every official in the ministry -- functions according to the whims and fancies of the Railway Minister,' former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar in an exclusive interview. 'It is the system that needs to be changed. It has to go from a one person-oriented ministry to an organisation-oriented ministry. The system should be transparent.'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take a final call on whether to break the tradition of presenting a separate Rail Budget, by merging it with the General Budget.
Pannun, the self-proclaimed general counsel of "unlawful association" SFJ, released the video messages on social media platforms on November 4.
Vaishnaw on Saturday said he had ordered a high-level probe into the derailment on Friday night.
India's iconic Vande Bharat train project may finally find a solution to its two Russian-related issues.
The 61-year old is credited with initiating big-ticket reforms as power minister, including the Electricity Act of 2003, under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The ad-hoc panel announced that it will host the senior national championships in Jaipur from February 2-5.
Due to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent unprecedented lockdown, e-catering services were suspended on March 22, 2020.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
Around 1.5 crore polling and security personnel, about 55 lakh EVMs and four lakh vehicles will be deployed for the polls, according to the poll authority.
With the Union government clearing the way for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the railways, the Railway Board is devising a plan for operations, maintenance and construction projects.
Indian Railways is currently implementing a project that involves laying of a broad gauge line connecting Nangaldam to Talwara in Himachal Pradesh.
In a historic move, the Indian Railways and the Ministry of Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build hospitals and OPDs at railway stations and on Railway land.
'I am glad to announce that these cities are now going to become green smart cities.'
Passengers who are disallowed from travelling on trains because of symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus will also receive full refund for their tickets, the railways has said.
These coaches, officials said, will be "economical" and in between the current AC three-tier and non-AC sleeper class.
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