As per the draft policy of the NITI Aayog, Indian Railway has identified 150 commercially viable routes for letting to for operating private trains. In which, two routes originating from Indore (under the Ratlam Division of Western Railway) to Okhala (New Delhi) and Danapur (Patna) have been identified for commencing operation of private trains.
Nagesh Namjoshi, former member of Passenger Amenities Committee of Railway Board, informed that the private train will be Tejas Express operated by IRCTC. At present only routes have been identified for operation of the trains, but rolling out the operation may take time of about 2 years.
The operation of the first private trains Tejas started last year October 5 between Lucknow and New Delhi. It is run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), an arm of the railways, which recently made its stock market debut. So far all trains in the country have been operated by the state-owned Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest employers. Now, in what appears to be a bid to improve its profitability, it has allowed IRCTC to run the Tejas Express.