THM contract for delivery, servicing of 120 electric trains for India estimated at $6.5 billion

NEW DELHI. April 17 (Interfax) - The Transmashholding JSC (TMH) contract for the supply of 120 electric trains for Indian railroads and their subsequent maintenance is estimated at $6.5 billion.

"The decision has been made, the document [contract] itself has not been signed. It should be signed within 45 days, starting on March 29," CEO Kirill Lipa told reporters.

"The deal is valued at $6.5 billion - that's for delivery and service, two contracts," he added.

"The contract amount will be about $1.8 billion for the supply of trains and $2.5 billion for their maintenance for 35 years. Taking into account indexation, the total value of the contract will potentially be $6.5 billion," TMH explained to reporters.

Lipa said earlier that the contract is due to be signed in May. For this purpose, TMH will open a subsidiary in India. "Everything will be built in India because the country has a make-in-India act that requires mandatory localization," he said.

Earlier, the Vedomosti newspaper reported that national carrier Indian Railways (IR) had sent an official notification to the Russian-Indian consortium about the awarding of the winning bid for the supply of 120 passenger electric trains (1920 cars) to India valued at $1.7 billion. The consortium members are TMH entities - Metrowagonmash and Locomotive Electronic Systems - with shares of 70% and 5% correspondingly, and the remaining 25% belong to IR subsidiary Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). Maintenance of the rolling stock is envisaged for a period of 35 years.

IR should take delivery of the first prototype electric train within two years after the signing of the agreement, after which delivery will begin gradually. The maximum term of the contract is 82 months.