Alstom and Medha also join the race to acquire 100 aluminium trainsets contract for Vande Bharat

Two leading mobility solution providers and rolling stock giants from two different parts of the world, Alstom and Medha Servo Drives, have reportedly participated in bidding to manufacture 100 lightweight Vande Bharat trainsets. While Alstom is the only bidder among the five contenders not partnered with any one, Medha has teamed with a Swiss company Stadler Rail.

The other three contenders are Siemens of Germany with BEML, Russian Transmashholding with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, and Titagarh Wagons with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

Aluminium will replace steel in the coaches for the first time in the Indian Railways, making the trains lighter and more energy efficient. “This will usher in a new era of travel in India with lighter and more energy efficient aluminium trains will be coming. Pune metro and Gurgaon light rail have used aluminium but this is for the first time that Indian Railways will be using it,” said Sudhanshu Mani, former general manager of Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF).

As per the reports, the trainsets will be manufactured in Sonipat, Haryana, India.

The technical bids were open on Thursday, and financial bids are coming soon. The Vande Bharat tender is for the design, build, and 35-year maintenance of 200 trainsets. Each train consisting of 16 coaches will cost INR 130 crore and the 35-year maintenance will cost INR 15,000 crore.

The 100 trains will have articulated bogie, aluminium body, and sleeper facilities.

The government has scheduled the launch of at least 75 Vande Bharat trains by August 2023.

The latest release of AlCircle's 'Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2023' estimates aluminium coaches to play a vital role in the railway sector globally, given the long-term goal of de-carbonization and environmental protection. The report states that the next version of Vande Bharat will contain immense aluminium.