The railways ministry has identified several asset classes and is working on various models to achieve the target of raising Rs 17,810 crore in FY22 under the national asset monetisation pipeline (NMP), the Times of India reported.

According to the daily, at a recent two-day review undertaken by Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, out of the 40 stations, the railways ministry informed that the requests for proposal (RFPs) for 12 stations have been finalised and 5 were in the final stage. Proposals for three stations have been sent to the public-private partnership approval committee (PPPAC). The proposals for the remaining stations were in various stages of development.

It also informed that the transaction adviser for three viable hill railway projects would be appointed by the end of September and the feasibility studies have been completed for bundling of these three projects.

The chairman and CEO of Railway Board also informed the core group of secretaries that the feasibility studies for three stadia have been completed and the process for appointing a transaction adviser was being worked out, the publication mentioned. He also said that the bid process is likely to be wrapped up within the fiscal year 2022. Work is also underway for monetising the remaining stadia under the Railways and is likely to be completed by the end of November.

The ministry also expects to award seven railway colonies for redevelopment by December this year and has already awarded three such entities.

It is also reworking the model concession agreement (MCA) for running private passenger trains after the poor response to the bids earlier this year. The Railways received a cold response from the private sector on offers to operate mail and express trains and received only two bids, including from a public sector unit within the railways, to run two of the 12 planned hubs.