+
India Crafting 250 kmph 'Made in India' Bullet Trains
RAILWAYS & METRO RAIL

India Crafting 250 kmph 'Made in India' Bullet Trains

According to officials familiar with the matter, the railways has assigned the task of locally manufacturing two standard-gauge bullet trains this fiscal year to the state-owned Integral Coach Factory (ICF), as discussions with Japanese suppliers became stalled over pricing.

It was revealed that India will be manufacturing a train capable of achieving maximum speeds of 250 kilometres per hour (kmph) for the first time.

These two trains are anticipated to operate on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor, which is valued at Rs 1.08 trillion.

The trains are expected to be constructed on the Vande Bharat platform. Experts expressed that while utilizing an existing platform would aid ICF in reducing the time required to introduce the trainsets, supplying them within this fiscal year would pose a challenge.

A senior official familiar with the decision informed, "ICF, Chennai has been assigned the task of constructing and delivering two standard-gauge trainsets of eight cars each, featuring a steel car body, with a running speed of 220 kmph and a maximum speed of 250 kmph." He added that the order for the trains was issued earlier this week. Discussions with a consortium of Japanese rolling stock suppliers - Hitachi and Kawasaki - have been ongoing for a considerable time but have not progressed much.

"As negotiations are ongoing, we anticipate the Japanese to adhere closely to our cost estimates for the supply of bullet train rolling stock," stated a second official. The official further added that it would take suppliers approximately three years from the award date to fulfill the contract terms.

The estimated cost of a 10-coach bullet train was Rs 3.89 billion in 2018. Each train was supposed to achieve cruising speeds of over 300 kmph. However, in 2023, the estimated supply cost was revised to Rs 4.60 billion per trainset.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the railways has assigned the task of locally manufacturing two standard-gauge bullet trains this fiscal year to the state-owned Integral Coach Factory (ICF), as discussions with Japanese suppliers became stalled over pricing. It was revealed that India will be manufacturing a train capable of achieving maximum speeds of 250 kilometres per hour (kmph) for the first time. These two trains are anticipated to operate on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor, which is valued at Rs 1.08 trillion. The trains are expected to be constructed on the Vande Bharat platform. Experts expressed that while utilizing an existing platform would aid ICF in reducing the time required to introduce the trainsets, supplying them within this fiscal year would pose a challenge. A senior official familiar with the decision informed, ICF, Chennai has been assigned the task of constructing and delivering two standard-gauge trainsets of eight cars each, featuring a steel car body, with a running speed of 220 kmph and a maximum speed of 250 kmph. He added that the order for the trains was issued earlier this week. Discussions with a consortium of Japanese rolling stock suppliers - Hitachi and Kawasaki - have been ongoing for a considerable time but have not progressed much. As negotiations are ongoing, we anticipate the Japanese to adhere closely to our cost estimates for the supply of bullet train rolling stock, stated a second official. The official further added that it would take suppliers approximately three years from the award date to fulfill the contract terms. The estimated cost of a 10-coach bullet train was Rs 3.89 billion in 2018. Each train was supposed to achieve cruising speeds of over 300 kmph. However, in 2023, the estimated supply cost was revised to Rs 4.60 billion per trainset.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

KONE Opens India's First Digital Experience Centre in Pune

KONE, a global elevator and escalator manufacturer, has inaugurated its first Digital Experience Centre (DEC) in India, located in Pune. The facility aims to showcase how artificial intelligence (AI), connectivity and data-driven technologies can enhance customer experiences and improve building operations.The centre was inaugurated by Jussi Herlin, Executive Vice Chair, KONE Corporation; Philippe Delorme, President and CEO, KONE; and Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board, Infosys.Designed as an interactive customer environment, the facility demonstrates digital solutions cover..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

CII GreenCo Launches Circularity Guidelines for Indian Industry

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) GreenCo Council has launched the CII GreenCo Circularity Guidelines – Pilot Version at the 17th CII GreenCo Waste & Resource Management Summit 2026 in Chennai. The initiative aims to strengthen resource efficiency, waste reduction and circular economy practices across Indian manufacturing and process industries.The guidelines introduce a structured framework with circularity indices covering raw materials, consumables, packaging and other resource inputs. These indicators will help industries assess existing practices, identify opportunities to ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

Global Electronics Association Launches IPC-1783-CO2E Standard

The Global Electronics Association has introduced IPC-1783-CO2E, a new international standard aimed at improving consistency, transparency and comparability in product carbon footprint reporting across the electronics manufacturing industry.The standard, titled International Standard for Data Collection and Reporting of CO2 Equivalent (CO2e) Emissions for the Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain, provides industry-specific guidance for collecting, estimating and reporting carbon emissions data.With increasing regulatory requirements and customer expectations, electronics manufacturers face c..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

SPECIAL OFFER
QR Code