According to sources, Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) has emerged as the lowest bidder for the supply of 72 coaches for the Bengaluru Metro. BEML quoted a price of Rs 10.6 crore per coach, while French railway major Alstom quoted Rs 14.3 crore. Titagarh Wagons, another rolling stock firm, did not qualify in the technical bid.
The tender for the 72 coaches, which are intended for the 19km Yellow Line (RV Road – Bommasandra), was initially announced by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in April 2022. The tender opening, originally scheduled for June 2022, was delayed due to various reasons. It is anticipated that the Electronics City Metro section (RV Road - Bommasandra) will become operational by December 2023.
Recently, BEML also secured the lowest bid to supply 318 coaches for Bengaluru Metro's Phase 2, Phase 2A, and Phase 2B corridors. In the tender for these coaches, BEML quoted the lowest bid of Rs 9.9 crore per coach.
Sources indicate that BMRCL decided to float the tender for the 72 coaches due to delays in receiving 216 coaches from China's CRRC Corporation Ltd, despite the contract being awarded in December 2019.
The fate of awarding this 72-coach tender to BEML remains uncertain, as CRRC has promised to deliver the first two sets of six-coach trains from China by August 2023.
A source from BMRCL stated, "We have floated the 72-coach tender as a backup plan due to the delay in receiving train sets from CRRC. We will make a final decision after completing the tender evaluation process," as reported by Moneycontrol.
The contract for the supply of 216 coaches to CRRC was awarded in December 2019, but no coaches have been delivered thus far. The supply was delayed due to CRCC's challenges in finding a local manufacturer to fulfill the 75 percent local production requirement under the 'Make in India' initiative.
Various factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign direct investment policies, and trade restrictions with China have contributed to the delay. As a result, CRCC formed a partnership with Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons to manufacture and deliver the coaches.
BMRCL anticipates the first two sets of six-coach trains to arrive from CRCC by August 2023, with additional train sets from Titagarh Wagons starting in September. Out of the 216 coaches, 126 (equivalent to 21 six-coach trains) will be deployed on the Purple and Green lines, while the remaining 90 (equivalent to 15 six-coach trains) are designated for the Yellow Line.
