Two firms in race to bag aluminium body Vande Bharat job

Two major firms Alstom and Medha - have joined the race for manufacturing 100 light weight aluminium body Vande Bharat train coaches with Sleeper facility and 200 kmph speed as the Railways on Thursday opened the bids worth Rs 28,000 crore.

While Alstom has not partnered with any one, Medha is understood to have tied up with the Swiss company Stadler Rail.

The 16-coach train is estimated to cost Rs 130 crore, the 35-year maintenance is to cost Rs 15,000 crore. So the semi-high speed train project is estimated to cost Rs 28,000 crore.

Also Read: Vande Bharat running at an average capacity of 99%

The Railway ministry has floated a tender for procuring a new set of 100 Vande Bharat trains with maximum design speed of 200 km per hour.

The tender floated for design, build and maintenance for a 35 years period, said an official in the railways.

The bids of the two parties would be examined now and after the technical evaluation, the financial bid would be opened, said the official.

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

Articulated technology is capable of negotiating curves on the tracks without losing speed and hence can reduce the total travel time to some extent.

This is for the first time, the Railways is opting for aluminum coach with Sleeper facility for Vande Bharat train.