From rxpgnews.com
Few takers for railways' private container trains
By IANS,
Apr 4, 2007 - 10:15:57 AM
New Delhi, April 4 - The Indian Railways' much-touted offer to private operators to run their own container trains does not seem to have fetched an enthusiastic response so far.
The railway ministry, which had set this February as the deadline for inviting offers from private container operators to run their own trains, waited for an extra month through March before issuing orders Monday to keep the offer open for the entire year for prospective operators.
According to an official of Container Corp of India Ltd., a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, so far only '15 parties have applied and 14 of them have been granted licences. The application of the 15th party is being processed'.
A railway official tried to play down the failure to get more parties.
'Private container train operators were facing difficulties in completing the process of applying for permission within the stipulated period. That is why the permission, kept open earlier only for a month, has now been extended for all round the year,' the official said.
Informed sources said the railways need enough private parties to invest in the container service venture before it sets out a time frame for running such privately operated trains on Indian rails.
Asked if the low number of applicants was the reason for the railways not announcing a schedule for beginning the operation, the official said: 'It is open to interpretation.'
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