Alstom Emerges as Lowest Bidder for Vande Bharat Trainsets

01 Jun 2023 CW Team

French railway giant Alstom has emerged as the preferred bidder for the production and maintenance of 100 aluminium Vande Bharat trainsets, worth Rs 30,000 crore. Alstom, a key player in India's railway and urban transport sector, offered a bid of Rs 150.99 crore per trainset.

The consortium of Swiss rolling stock company Stadler Rail and India's Medha Servo followed closely with a bid of Rs 169.9 crore per trainset. Only these two players made the cut during the tender's technical bid opening on February 23. The manufacturing cost will be paid upon delivery, with the remaining Rs 17,000 crore covering maintenance for 35 years.

Alstom had previously lost the bid for the mega order of 200 stainless steel Vande Bharat trains, with its bid for aluminium trainsets being Rs 30 crore higher per unit. The higher cost is attributed to the higher speed capability and energy efficiency of the aluminium trainsets. However, the Indian Railways currently lacks tracks for such speeds.

The introduction of sleeper-class Vande Bharat trains is also expected with the pipeline of 300 trainsets, with the first sleeper Vande Bharat anticipated to launch in early 2024.

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