TMH division bidding in Indian tender to supply, service high-speed trains worth up to $6 bln

MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) - JSC Metrovagonmash, a Moscow Region division of Russian train maker Transmashholding (TMH), is bidding in a tender to supply and service high-speed trains in India that could be worth up to $6 billion, TMH reported.

TMH said it has experience working with partners from India and acquires materials in the country for manufacturing rolling stock. This experience will serve as a foundation for developing cooperation and establishing a permanent manufacturing presence in this country, the company said.

TMH said it plans to become a reliable technology partner for India and bid in tenders to supply subway cars, produce and service electric trains and electric locomotives, and modernize depots.

"TMH, through Metrovagonmash, has indeed become a participant in one of the largest tenders being held in India - for the production, delivery and servicing of 200 16-car Vande Bharat Express high-speed trains. The overall value of the rolling stock in the tender, taking into account the arrangement of servicing for 35 years, could total up to $6 billion," Metrovagonmash head of business development Sergei Medvedev was quoted as saying by the press service.

The electric trains will be expected to travel at speeds of up to 160 km/hour.

The first model of the train is supposed to be built within two years after the announcement of the winner of the tender. The remaining trains will have to be delivered over the subsequent five years.

TMH has supplied diesel locomotives to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, as well as subway cars to Azerbaijan in 2022. The company is continuing to work on a project to supply 1,300 passenger cars to Egypt. It has completed the portion of the contract involving the delivery of third-class cars with dynamic ventilation and has begun delivering third-class cars with air conditioning. In the coming months, it will begin delivering second-class and first-class cars, as well as buffet cars.

TMH is Russia's largest manufacturer of rolling stock, with plants in St. Petersburg, Bryansk, Penza, Tver, and the Moscow, Rostov and Saratov regions, as well as in Switzerland, South Africa, Egypt, Argentina, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The group's service division is represented by legally independent company Locomotive Technologies.