BHEL-Titagarh, Alstom among 5 bidders for Vande Bharat

01 Dec 2022 CW Team

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has formed a partnership with Titagarh Wagons to be among five entities bidding for the Rs 580 billion crore contract to manufacture 200 Vande Bharat trains and maintain them for 35 years.

Others in the fray are French railway major Alstom; the Medha-Stadler consortium between Swiss railway rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail and Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives; Siemens along with BEML; and Russian rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding (TMH) along with an Indian firm.

Officials said the upfront payment on the delivery of the trains Rs 260 billion, while Rs 320 billion crore will be paid over a period of 35 years.

The Indian Railways is now evaluating technical bids for the contract. The financial bids will be opened in the next 45 days.

According to the tender document, the successful bidder has to produce a prototype of the sleeper class for Vande Bharat trains within 24 months. Indian Railways is targeting to roll out the first sleeper version of Vande Bharat train by the first quarter of 2024. So far, the railways has awarded contracts for manufacture of 102 Vande Bharat trains which are all chair car.

The Vande Bharat trains are expected to be a big upgrade from the premium Rajdhani Express service. The sleeper class-version of these trains will be run on the routes like New Delhi-Patna, New Delhi-Lucknow and others.

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