LAHORE: Four private firms are set to take over the commercial operation of various passenger trains after their financial bids exceeded the revenue benchmark set by Pakistan Railways (PR).

Following the opening of financial bids on Friday, seven companies qualified after their technical bids were accepted. PR Chief Executive Officer Amir Ali Baloch confirmed to Dawn that four of these firms submitted financial bids above the benchmark fixed by the relevant authorities.

He said that out of the 10 trains offered for outsourcing, four are likely to be outsourced soon to the firms whose financial bids exceeded the benchmark, pending the completion of other legal formalities.

In a move to attract private sector investment, PR decided in August to phase the outsourcing of commercial operations for its passenger trains. In the first phase, PR offered 10 trains (both up and down routes) for operation under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The trains advertised for outsourcing include Haz­­­ara Express (11-up/12-down), Awam Express (13-up/14-down), Karachi Express (15-up/16-down), Bahauddin Zakariya Exp­ress (25-up/26-down), Mehar Express (127-up/128-down), Sukkur Express (145-up/146-down), Che­nab Express (135-up/136-down), Mehran Express (149-up/150-down), Mohenjo Daro Passenger (213-up/214-down/local train), and Rawalpindi Passenger (267-up/268-down/local train).

Technical bids were submitted on September 19, and after scrutiny, seven companies’ bids were found compliant. Subsequ­ently, the financial bids were submitted, with four of them exceeding the benchmark.

Earlier, PR had advertised 22 trains for outsourcing, including Kara­koram Express, Karachi Express, Awam Express, Green Line, Mehr Express, Chenab Express, Saman Sarkar Express, Mohenjo Daro Express, Pak Business, Bolan Mail, Thal Express, Sukkur Express, Marvi Express, Chaman Express, Hazara Express, Shalimar Express, Bahau­ddin Zakariya Express, Kohat Express, Mehran Express, Attock Express, Jand Express and Rawalpindi Express.

However, in the first week of August, PR can­celed this bidding process, citing a lack of competitiveness due to participation from only three companies, which violated PPRA rules and regulations.

“Since four of the total seven trains are likely to be outsourced soon under this ongoing bidding process, we expect the outsourcing of the remaining six trains in phase one,” Amir Baloch said.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2024