 "Railway workers' union seeks review of tender for private maintenance")
Bringing private players in the area of maintenance of coaches is contrary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement that railways will not be privatised, the trade union body which represents 80 per cent of the Indian Railways’ 1.3 million-strong workforce has said.
“The Federation strongly opposes this step of the government as at present, maintenance of Electrical Multiple Unit trains are being done by the railways staff efficiently and the new loco-free train sets should be allowed to be maintained by Indian Railways’ supervisors and staff who may be trained in handling new technology,” NFIR general-secretary M Raghavaiah said in a statement.
He added the Federation would meet rail minister Suresh Prabhu seeking a review of the government’s ‘improper’ decision as the existing railway staff is capable of absorbing new skills.
The tender is part of a project lined up under the ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative for procurement-cum-maintenance of 315 coaches, which are to be used to enable faster inter-city travel.
Each of the 15 train sets will comprise coaches powered by dedicated propulsion systems, eliminating the need for locomotives to haul these trains. The successful bidder will import two train sets, while the rest will have to be manufactured domestically.
The rail ministry had floated the request for qualification, or RFQ, for the project last month seeking global manufacturers to join the bidding process.
The bids are likely to be opened in August for short-listing the qualified bidders.
Prabhu had said in Bengaluru on Saturday that his ministry was looking at setting up integrated transport systems for major cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.