Indian Railways currently operates 19 Rail Neer plants across the country to meet the demand for packaged drinking water on trains and at railway stations, the government informed Parliament on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Railways said the demand for Rail Neer, the packaged drinking water brand of Indian Railways, is being met through the existing operational plants located at key locations across the country.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been entrusted with the responsibility of setting up Rail Neer plants based on demand and operational requirements across the railway network.
According to the Ministry, setting up a Rail Neer plant under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model involves an estimated investment of about ₹10 crore for a facility with a production capacity of one lakh bottles per day. The cost includes construction of a pre-engineered building and installation of plant and machinery but excludes the cost of land.
At present, Rail Neer plants are operational in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
Maharashtra has three operational plants located at Ambernath, Nagpur and Bhusawal, while Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have two plants each. The remaining states have one Rail Neer plant each.
The 19 operational plants are located at Nangloi (Delhi), Danapur (Bihar), Ambernath, Nagpur and Bhusawal (Maharashtra), Palur (Tamil Nadu), Maneri and Mandideep (Madhya Pradesh), Amethi and Hapur (Uttar Pradesh), Una (Himachal Pradesh), Jagiroad (Assam), Sankrail (West Bengal), Kota (Rajasthan), Sanand (Gujarat), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), and Simhadri and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).
The information was provided by Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
