BENGALURU: The nodal agency for implementing the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRB) on Wednesday called a global tender to identify bidders who meet the eligibility criteria to supply 306 coaches for the Rs 15,767-crore project. The expected cost of the coaches (rolling stock) is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore and is not included in the project’s cost. Sources at the agency, Karnataka- Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (K-RIDE), said this was the preliminary step before calling for the actual bid for the coaches and does not entail any financial commitment at this stage.
“We are looking at agencies within India or abroad who can supply 306 air-conditioned coaches for the BSRP. They need to be of the dimensions of 21.6 metres in length and 3.2 metres width like the coaches used in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation or Indian Railways. They are bigger than the Bengaluru Metro Rail coaches.” Of the coaches supplied, only 264 will be deployed for operations, a source said. An official said the rolling stock will be procured on a PPP model with the bidder expected to supply the coaches and maintain them for a period of 35 years.
A pre-bid meet was held in May 2022 and 17 financial institutions and ten rolling stock manufacturers showed interest, the official added. Alstom, BEML, CAF, Titagarh Wagon, as well as firms based in Indonesia, Russia and Germany had evinced interest, he added.
The coaches need to be supplied in phases from 2026 to 2028 with 60 coaches to be supplied in the first year. “When the project begins, we will require only a minimum number of coaches till patronage picks up. Also maintenance of so many coaches at one go will be a problem initially. So we do not foresee any shortage of coaches for operations,” he said.