Private companies may get to service non-railway entities' wagons
New Delhi, Dec 01, 2025
Synopsis
Indian Railways is exploring a plan to permit private companies to maintain freight wagons. This move aims to address capacity issues in overhaul depots and create new service opportunities. Private wagon owners could service their own containers. This initiative is expected to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance delays for the railway network.
The Indian Railways is weighing a plan to let private players maintain freight wagons, a move that can open a new services market and ease capacity constraints in its overhaul depots, according to people familiar with the matter.
The proposal, now under discussion, will allow privately-owned container wagons to be serviced by non-railway entities, with tariff rebates being considered for rake owners that opt for self-maintenance, officials said. "There is significant private sector presence in container wagons, and it would be the first in which private maintenance may be permitted," a senior official told ET.
The official said this could be done in a phased manner and added that this will free up railways wagon maintenance capacity for its own self use, leading to faster turnaround.
There are around 750 container rakes (trains) of 45 wagons each operating on the railway network. The maintenance of each rake is undertaken by the railways only at an assigned base depot. Each intensive examination activity is expected to take at least six hours. Maintenance activities are undertaken monthly, annually and triennially.
Move can halve number of wagons lying at depots; container wagons would be first to see pvt maintenance
The railways charges around 5% of the total freight tariff value for maintaining container wagons.
Industry has been demanding opening up of this segment, citing long turnaround time, and has represented the issue to the railways. According to industry estimates, roughly 20% of all wagons are always in maintenance depots.
A PwC study has found limited capacity available at the railways routine and periodic overhaul depots. There are instances of rakes waiting for days or even weeks before being moved to assigned maintenance depots.
"The overall time spent exceeds the expected time and can be as high as 12-18 hours and, in some cases, even up to 24 hours," the study said.
An industry representative said the private sector can bring down the number of wagons undergoing maintenance to less than 10%.
"This will allow roughly 10% higher freight loading by the existing fleet of container trains," he said, adding that the national transporter will have legroom to cut freight tariffs by outsourcing maintenance.
The railways expects to rake in ₹1.88 lakh crore from freight earnings this fiscal, roughly 4.4% more than a year ago. Earnings from container movement are a relatively much smaller share of the total income with ₹10,170.42 crore budgeted for 2025-26, up from ₹9,777.44 crore in the last fiscal.
[The Economic Times]
