Online bids may seek to fill Railways wagons and berths
Apart from offering flexible tariffs, the Railways will also earn revenue from berths and wagons which would otherwise remain unoccupied.
By Rajat Guha, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Taking a leaf out of airlines��� marketing books, the Railways plan to launch online bidding for seats and freight wagons. An announcement in this regard is expected in the forthcoming railway budget. Apart from offering flexible tariffs to customers, the Railways will also earn revenue from berths and wagons which otherwise remain unoccupied during lean season or on the empty flow direction.
The Railways would maintain floor prices for berths as well as wagons. ���Bid prices will normally be kept lower than the prevalent market rate,��� a Rail Bhawan source said.
The Railways are developing a commercial portal for online booking of berths and wagons. Once the portal is ready, the Railways would start inviting bids. Officials are working on the design of the portal with private infotech companies and bids have been invited for running it.
To facilitate the wagon auction scheme, the Railways will set up a panel of infotech experts to track and market empty wagons across the country. As wagons in the empty flow direction ��� despite heavy discounts ��� do not generate enough revenue, a survey is planned to identify sectors where wagons are running below capacity.
The Railways would maintain floor prices for berths as well as wagons. ���Bid prices will normally be kept lower than the prevalent market rate,��� a Rail Bhawan source said.
The Railways are developing a commercial portal for online booking of berths and wagons. Once the portal is ready, the Railways would start inviting bids. Officials are working on the design of the portal with private infotech companies and bids have been invited for running it.
To facilitate the wagon auction scheme, the Railways will set up a panel of infotech experts to track and market empty wagons across the country. As wagons in the empty flow direction ��� despite heavy discounts ��� do not generate enough revenue, a survey is planned to identify sectors where wagons are running below capacity.
| | | Also Read |
| | �� | |
| | �� | |
| | �� | |
| | �� |
The Railways lose huge revenue in the movement of freight when a train returns empty after delivering goods. The loss can now be minimised as customers will be able to book wagons at half the price. ���Initially, the bid value will be kept low. We will scale it up in future. At present, we are against keeping a single wagon idle in any sector. Getting something is certainly better than getting nothing,��� an official said.
Rail Bhawan is also holding discussions on introducing other measures such as setting up transport exchanges to monitor freight movement, integration of over 50 railway Websites and better management of rolling stock and crew.
Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
