NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Alstom, a French railway company, has come up as the lowest bidder for the manufacturing & maintenance of 100 Vande Bharat trains with aluminium body. The contract is worth ₹30,000 crore. According to reports, Alstom bid ₹151 crore per trainset, which is 11% lower than the second lowest bid made by a consortium of Staddler and Medha with the bid of ₹169 crore per trainset.
A total of 13,000 crore would be paid to the successful bidder upon delivery of the trains, and an additional 17,000 crore will be paid over a 35-year period for maintenance.
On February 23, technical bids for the tender went live, with only two players getting selected.
By the first quarter of 2024, Indian Railways hopes to introduce the first Vande Bharat sleeper train. Up till this point, the Railways has given contracts for the production of 200 Vande Bharat sleeper trains and 102 Vande Bharat chair trains.
Railway experts believe that aluminium trains are more efficient at higher speeds and lighter compared to stainless steel trains.
