BHEL, Titagarh bag Rs 240bn Vande Bharat contract from Indian Railways

A consortium led by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) inked a contract with Indian Railways to manufacture and supply 80 fully assembled Vande Bharat sleeper train sets by 2029 and maintain them for 35 years.

This contract, estimated at INR 24,000 crores excluding GST, is the first of its kind where Indian Railways has awarded such a high-value contract to an Indian consortium for the design, manufacturing of complete train sets and their maintenance for over three decades.

The Vande Bharat trains symbolize a significant leap for Indian Railways under the Government’s Make in India program. The BHEL-TRSL consortium was the only AatmaNirbhar group participating in the tender process and was subsequently granted the project.

Umesh Chowdhary — Titagarh Rail Systems Vice Chairman and Managing Director said: “We are committed to becoming a modest contributor to the Prime Minister’s AatmaNirbhar vision. Vande Bharat trains have revolutionized the way we travel, and we are proud to be a part of the Government’s Make in India initiative. Our focus on adopting the latest technology to boost our engineering prowess will help us build state-of-the art railway trainsets, at par with global standards.

“The order shall be executed over a span of six years, wherein the first prototype shall be delivered within a two-year timeframe, after which the remaining deliveries will take place.”

The final assembly, testing, and commissioning of the Vande Bharat sleeper trains will be conducted at Indian Railway’s facilities in Chennai. Each train will consist of 16 coaches with a capacity to accommodate more than 880 passengers in total. The trains are designed to operate at speeds of up to 160kmph.