Bengaluru is set to manufacture the country’s first bullet train. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) invited tenders to manufacture two chair-car high-speed trains on September 5. The last date for submitting bids was Thursday, September 19. The stainless steel carbody trains will have a maximum speed of 280 kmph and an operating speed of 250 kmph. The train is likely to be manufactured at the BEML’s Bengaluru Plant. The tender is yet to be finalised by the ICF.
According to a Moneycontrol report, the train will be manufactured at BEML’s Bengaluru plant. U Subba Rao, general manager of Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, said that only BEML has submitted a bid to build two eight-car train sets, and the tender will be finalised in a week. “Since it was a small order for only two train coaches, other rolling stock manufacturers were not keen to participate. Our target is to complete the manufacturing work in 2.5 years,” said Rao.
The train will have seven bogies with a standard 3+2 seating arrangement and one executive bogie with 2+2 seating. According to sources, the total seating capacity is expected to be around 174. Depending on the demand of passengers, 12 or 16 more bogies can be added to the train in future. Keeping an eye on export markets like South East Asia and Africa, the trains will be built for standard gauge tracks.
The amount spent by BEML-Medha Servo Drives in making the trains is not clear, but it is estimated that the total cost of making one train can fall between Rs 200-250 crore. These trains will run on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, which is being developed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
Medha will manufacture the propulsion system and develop the train control management system (TCMS) software from its Hyderabad facility. BEML will handle the final assembly and rollout from its Bengaluru factory. “After successful trials, additional orders are likely for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route and other upcoming high-speed rail lines, such as Delhi-Varanasi, Mumbai-Hyderabad and Bengaluru-Chennai,” the official said as quoted in the Moneycontrol.
The first train with a design speed of 280 kilometres per hour and an operational speed of 250 kilometres per hour is expected to be introduced by December 2026. It will be tested on the Surat-Bilimora section of the MAHSR line.
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