New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) French multinational railway major Alstom and Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives Private Limited in partnership with Swiss major Stadler have emerged as the only two bidders to manufacture 100 aluminium body Vande Bharat trainsets.

The two firms have submitted bids for the Rs 30,000 crore contract to produce and maintain 100 Vande Bharat trains for 35 years. While they will get payment of Rs 13,000 crore on delivery, the remaining will be paid after 35 years, sources said.

Also Read | Common Man Bogged Down by Corruption in India, Need to Fix Accountability at All Levels: Supreme Court.

To be manufactured in Sonepat, the 100 aluminium Vande Bharat trainsets will be lighter than traditional steel-make trains and more energy efficient.

Sources attributed the lack of more bids to the absence of expertise in the country to make aluminium trains.

Also Read | Punjab: Drug Traffickers Switch to Online Deals via WhatsApp As BSF, Police Step Up the Heat.

The technical bids, which were submitted on Thursday, will be evaluated and then financial bids will be sought, to decide the winner.

The Indian Railways is targeting to roll out the first sleeper version of Vande Bharat train by the first quarter of 2024. Till now, the Railways has awarded contracts to manufacture 102 Vande Bharat trains which are all chair car.

While Medha is the vendor of electrical system, mainly propulsion system, of the current batch of Vande Bharat trainsets, it has no experience in making aluminium trains. This is where Swiss maker Stadler comes in, which has the required experience and the expertise.

Alstom, on the other hand, is one of the biggest train makers in the world with a significant footprint in India.

The 100 Vande Bharat trains will be part of the government's ambitious plans of rolling out over 400 such trainsets in the next few years.

Currently, there are just 10 such trains operating in the country.

The deal is to manufacture as well as maintain the 100 trainsets as well as upgradation of government manufacturing unit and trainset depots.

The bids for 200 sleeper versions of the Vande Bharats were already floated last year.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)