Pune: Private trains to run on six pairs of routes

Pune: The proposed privatisation of railways project includes 6 pairs of routes to and from Pune and 23 pair of routes to and from Mumbai city. Indian Railways has also selected five intra-state routes including the Mumbai-Shirdi route for this project. 

Indian Railways has invited 'Request for Qualifications' for 109 pairs of routes on which 150 private trains can be operated across India. Mumbai has the largest share of routes in these 109 identified pairs while six routes from Pune have been selected. Since the Pune-Mumbai distance is just about three hours, this route has not been included in the privatisation project. However, Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Ahmedabad and other routes have been included in the project. The over-crowded routes of Pune-Patna, Pune-Darbhanga have also been included in the project plan.

Trains departing and arriving at Mumbai-Darbhanga, Patna, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Indore, Secunderabad, Chennai, Howrah, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Kalburgi, Jaipur and Bhopal.

Trains departing and arriving at Pune-Delhi, Patna, Howrah, Prayagraj, Dibrugarh, Bhopal

Intra-state Railways: Mumbai-Nagpur, Mumbai-Shirdi, Mumbai-Akola, Mumbai-Nandurbar, Mumbai-Aurangabad

Passengers will get these benefits:

• Passenger to get compensation of Rs 100 if the train gets delayed by one hour
• Tickets issued will be limited to the number of seats available
• Attendant service similar to in-flight service
• Drinking water facility in each compartment
• First Aid Kit
• Clean bedsheet, pillows and curtains
• Catering service in affordable rates
• Security guard in each compartment