The Indian Railways plans to introduce the concept of dedicated passenger corridors in the country. This will help in clearing the decks for bringing in private-run trains in the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah stretches.
On these routes the train speed will also be increased to above 160 km per hour over the next four or five years by revamping the entire signaling, tracks and fencing. Also as a safety measure, the Railways has lined up a plan to eliminate all the manned level crossings. All unmanned level crossings were eliminated during the last financial year.
A draft cabinet note has also been floated to eliminate all 2,565 manned level crossings on the entire golden quadrilateral and diagonal routes within four years at an expense of Rs 50,000 crore.
The Railways will be having both the eastern and western dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) in place by 2021 and the plan is to ensure that by that time dedicated passenger routes with improved speed of 160 kmph and efficiency are also in place in the same routes by revamping the entire network.
The Railways will be completing the first two stretches -- Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah in a span of four years. The private operators will be able to provide onboard services according to their own plans – including food, maintenance and entertainment.
The Railways will also supervise safety and maintenance. In addition, loco pilots and guards will be a part of the Railways. All other onboard services will come under the private player.
To showcase the model, two Tejas trains from Delhi to Lucknow and Mumbai to Ahmedabad have already been allotted to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The first Tejas train to Lucknow will start its services before 15 October 2019.