BHEL-Titagarh Wagons only fully Indian consortium eyeing $8.7 billion Vande Bharat contract; coach building will depend heavily on aluminium

On February 22, 2023, the company manufacturing coaches for Indian Railways, Titagarh Wagons Ltd (TWL), publicized that their partnership with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL),  the largest government-owned power generation equipment manufacturer, has made them the sole fully Indian consortium among the five contenders for the around USD$ 8.7 billion (INR 72,000 crore) Vande Bharat train contract.

Vande Bharat is a high-performance train operated by Indian Railways, and it is considered the fastest train in India.

Titagarh Wagons Ltd., a major engineering and wagon company, also unveiled plans to invest around USD$ 85 million (INR700 crore) in capital expenditure over the next 4-5 years to increase production capacity and related infrastructure.

Prithish Chowdhary, the Chief Marketing Officer at TWL, said, "The Company, having formed a partnership with BHEL, is one of the five bidders for the Vande Bharat contract. We remain optimistic. We are the only truly Indian consortium, as both partners are Indians.”

"BHEL is the lead partner, but the scope of work is almost equal. The finer details will have to be worked out based on operational efficiencies of each of us if we get the contract.”

According to a senior company executive, TWL will increase its coach-building capabilities in both steel and aluminium bodies thanks to the upcoming steel body facility in Uttarpara, West Bengal.

Other bidders include Siemens of Germany with BEML, Medha Engineering with Stadler Rail of Switzerland, Russian Transmashholding and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited. Alstom, a French company, is the sole bidder.

The Vande Bharat contract calls for the delivery of 200 trains, as well as design, production, testing, and commissioning, as well as a 35-year maintenance agreement. The entire project is expected to be completed within the next 3-4 years, with the 200 trains costing approximately USD$ 8.7 billion (INR72,000 crores).

This contract would be awarded to two bidders - the lowest will get 120 trains and the second lowest 80 trains.

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