Indian Railways considering massive purchase of nearly 22,000 wagons

The Indian Railways have declared that they are considering a bulk purchase of nearly 22,000 wagons at the cost of nearly Rs 7000 Crore in the current financial year, said reports. The order is being placed with the hope that the price of the wagons would reduce by at least 15-20%.

A reverse e-auction is yet to be conducted to place the orders which means the lowest bidder would be approached and if in case they aren't able to serve the entire order, the second lowest bidder will be asked to take it up.

The purchase is expected to bring large orders to industries like Texmaco Rail and Engineering, Titagarh Wagons, Jindal Rail and Jupiter Wagons. This purchase is expected to be the biggest of its kind in contrast to the 8000 wagons they purchase every year.

A News18 report that quoted Railway Minister Piyush Goyal as saying that he has been requesting the industries to boost their wagon manufacturing capacity. While he requests the industries to provide at least 1000 wagons a month, they are able to provide only 400 and at this rate they would have to start importing wagons.

In a recent meeting held at the Rail Bhavan, the top officials of the railway board and wagon manufacturer decided that a target of loading more than 1,200 million tonne of freight will be set for the current financial year in which 45% would be from the loading of coal itself.

The freight transportation segment gives maximum profit to the railways in which 60% goes to the national transporter whereas the passenger segment which gives a loss of 30,000 crores, gives railways only 25% of the total revenue.

In an attempt to construct a 3,300km-long dedicated freight corridors by 2020, the ministry has decided to also increase its freight carrying capacity by 1100 million tonne in the next two years. The railway is set to increase its share in the country's total freight transportation basket after the railway minister set a target from the now 33% to 45%.