UPDATED with delivery schedule and other information.
After a series of setbacks, the Indian Railways has again floated the Train-18 / Vande Bharat tender for the design, testing, manufacture and commissioning of 44 rakes of 16 coaches each.
Out of the 44 rakes, 24 are to be manufactured at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, 10 at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala and 10 at Modern Coach Factory Rae Bareli as per RDSO specifications.
Last date for submission of bids is 17th November 2020. The tender mandates local content percentage to the tune of 75% as part of the Make in India policy.
The two stage, reverse auction tender has been classified as a domestic tender. Thus, only companies registered in India can apply.
A pre-bid meeting will be held on 29th September to understand issues faced or to provide clarifications on the tender.
Train-18/Vande Bharat trainset configuration
The new trainsets will be similar in design, features and configuration to the already produced Train-18 prototype trainsets. These are currently operating on two routes as Vande Bharat Express on Indian Railways.
Configuration of the rake will be the same as earlier: 8 motorcoaches, 4 trailer coaches, 2 non-driving trailer coaches and 2 driving trailer coaches using the 50% powering technique that was introduced on Indian Railways for the first time with the ICF produced prototypes. RDSO specifications RDSO/PE/SPEC/EMU/0196–2019 (Rev.0) are to be followed.
Maximum service speed for the trainset is also set to 160 km/h.
Passenger features also continue in the same vein as before, with fully airconditioned, vestibuled rake fitted with automatic plug type doors, retractable footsteps, automatic intercommunication door, destination boards, modular pantry and more.
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Schedule of Delivery for Train-18/Vande Bharat rakes
The tender envisions delivery and commissioning of two prototype rakes into service at the end of 21 months from the award of contract. This puts the earliest date for delivery of prototypes to late 2022.
Serial production for the trainset will commence only after the rakes have operated for three months or 1 lakh kilometres, whichever is lesser and receives approval. This places serial production of the Train-18 trainset in the first half of 2023 if everything goes according to plan.
When serial production begins, 6 rakes are targeted for production in the 1st quarter and 12 rakes and each of the next three quarters, taking the total to 44 rakes. Going by the current timeline, this could extend to mid 2024.
