Background
India has the fifth largest railway network in the world which
is managed and operated by the Ministry of Railways, Government of
India (MOR). The MOR manages and operates the
trains on the Indian Railway (IR) network. Till
now, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited
(IRCTC), a Government of India owned listed
entity, was the only private entity (although owned by the
Government) permitted to operate passenger trains on select
routes.
Despite the size of the IR network, there is a huge unmet demand
due to capacity constraints which often leads to loss of passenger
business to other modes of transport. There is a critical
requirement of next generation technology and provision of higher
service quality, ensuring use of improved coach technology and
reduced journey time. Therefore, with the objective of improving
user experience by introduction of modern technology rolling stock,
the MOR has decided to permit private entities to
