SCR to run private trains in 11 routes while Tejas in 3 routes in two Telugu States

South Central Railway General Manager Gajanan Mallya said that tenders for private trains would soon be invited on 11 routes under the public-private partnership. The last budget for Railways was Rs. 1,56,352 crore for the financial year is increased to Rs. 1,61,042 crore, which is 3 per cent more compared to the previous budget. The South Central Railway also allocated Rs. 6,846 crore this time, which is 30 per cent more than last year.

On the other hand, the Tejas train will reportedly be introduced in three routes between Lingampally and Guntur, Aurangabad-Panveli, Charlapalli-Srikakulam under IRCTC. This year's budget has allocated five crores for the expansion of the Charlapalli terminal and 40 crores for MMTS second phase. The centre has awarded ten lakhs for Ghatkesar and Yadadri MMTS. In total, no new projects have been proposed this year, except to provide some funding for projects that have been ongoing for the past four years.

In a recent Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that 150 private trains would be launched this year on 100 routes across the country. The trains are scheduled to take several different ways from Hyderabad.

South Central Railway is planning to run these trains from the Charlapalli Terminal. Charlapalli-Srikakulam, Charlapalli-Varanasi, Charlapalli-Panvel, Lingampalli-Tirupati, Secunderabad-Guwahati, Charlapalli-Chennai, Charlapalli-Shalimar, Vijayawada-Visakha, Tirupati-Visakhapatnam, etc.

Tejas trains will run between Lingampally-Guntur and Aurangabad-Panvel under IRCTC. Some of these trains are daily express trains while some run twice a week and some run weekly. Open tenders for these trains will be invited soon. South Central Railway has taken steps to phase out these in the current financial year.

The private trains on the routes Charlapalli-Varanasi, Lingampally-Tirupati, Charlapalli-Parvelly, Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam, Charlapalli-Shalimar, Aurangabad-Panvel, Secunderabad-Guwahati, Charlapalli-Chennai, Guntur-Lingampally, will be initiated soon.