(a) whether the Railways propose to allow private firms to use the Railway network for commodity transport and also develop freight terminals in the country;
(b) if so, the details and present status thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Railways in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) to (c): Rail operation on Indian Railway network by private firms is not permissible. However, private firms can transport commodities using Indian Railway network in containers and can also develop freight terminals. The permission to run container trains by private players is in vogue since 2006 and so far 17 companies have taken license to run containers trains on Indian Railways of which 15 are active. Under the scheme the rakes are owned by Container Train Operators and Indian Railways has the exclusive right to haul the rakes on its network. Private freight terminals are developed under Private Freight Terminal Policy of 2010 which was revised in 2015. So far 59 proposals of Private Freight Terminal (PFT) have been received out of which 24 terminals have been notified and 35 granted ‘in principle’ approval.
*****