Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) has emerged as the lowest bidder to supply 318 coaches for Bengaluru Metro's Phase 2, Phase 2A, and Phase 2B corridors, sources told Moneycontrol.
The financial bids were opened by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on May 18. BEML quoted the lowest bid of Rs 9.9 crore per coach, followed by Alstom (Rs 12.02 crore per coach), Titagarh Wagons Ltd (Rs 14.74 crore per coach), and Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Rs 14.96 crore per coach).
The allocation of coaches is as follows: 126 coaches for Phase 2B (Blue Line: 37 km KR Puram to Kempegowda International Airport), 96 coaches for the Blue Line (18.2 km Central Silk Board to KR Puram), and 96 coaches for the Pink Line (21.3 km Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara).
The Pink Line is expected to become operational by 2025, while the Blue Line (ORR-KIA Metro corridor) is likely to be ready by 2025-2026.
The tender, part of a Rs 3,717-crore loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), faced delays and was scheduled to be finalized in December 2022.
BMRCL managing director Anjum Parwez confirmed that BEML emerged as the lowest bidder but mentioned that the tender is yet to be awarded. However, a source revealed that since BEML qualified in the technical bids and emerged as the lowest bidder in the financial bid, they are likely to be awarded the tender.
The selected firm will also be responsible for maintaining the coaches for a period of 15 years. In April, BMRCL issued another tender for the procurement of 72 new coaches for the Yellow Line (RV Road–Bommasandra), but it is yet to be finalized.
In December 2019, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd., a China-based company, was awarded a contract to supply 216 coaches, but no coaches have been delivered so far.
BMRCL expects the first two sets of 6-coach trains to arrive from CRCC (China's CRRC) by August 2023, with additional train sets arriving from Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons starting in September. CRCC partnered with Titagarh Wagons to manufacture and supply the coaches.
Furthermore, three firms—Spain-based Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML)—have expressed interest in the tender to supply air-conditioned coaches for the Bengaluru suburban rail project under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
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