Multinationals Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens are among the 23 probable bidders to operate private trains in the country.

A pre-bid meeting was held here on Wednesday, which was also attended by Indian companies GMR Infrastructure, Titagarh Wagons, PSUs Bharat Earth Movers Limited and BHEL along with the IRCTC. In the first meeting held on July 21, 16 firms were present.

At the second pre-bid meeting, the companies put forth several queries, including on the eligibility criteria and the bidding process. The bidders also sought clarity on the procurement of trains and their fares. They had queries on operations and maintenance and the timing of trains and halts.

The railways said it has reduced the Request for Qualification (RFQ) fee by one tenth for those entities participating in more than one project. Complete freedom will be given on the procurement of trains even as the restriction of three projects per bidder will be reduced and the leasing of trains will be permitted.

In all, the railways is inviting 12 requests for qualification to operate 151 private trains. The first dozen private trains will roll out in the next two years and all the 151 trains will run by 2026-27. The contract will be for 35 years. The project involves private investment of Rs 30,000 crore.

Analysts said the private train project is expected to boost the revenues of Indian Railways, which has been trying to look at ways to reduce losses.

The railways recover just 57 per cent of costs through passenger fares, with the rest coming from freight subsidy.

The railways had earlier said the operators shall have the freedom to decide on fares .

The private entities will be selected through a two-stage competitive bidding process comprising Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP). The due date for opening of RFQ is September 8.