New rakes still under test, German firm’s contract for electrical equipment expires

The contract of supplying electrical equipment worth Rs 1,064 crore, awarded to Bombardier, expired in October 2014. Since the two rakes under testing in Mumbai section are yet to get a nod of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and the Railway Board, the assembly production of the remaining rakes is held up and likewise all other equipments, including the electrical components being supplied by Bombardier.

With no fault of the supplier in this situation, a red-faced MRVC  extended the contract to December 2015, confirmed an MRVC officer.
The initial contract was awarded for 150 weeks from November 2011 and October 2014.

“According to the contract, the trials should have been over in three months. The supplier had planned their production cycle accordingly. However, with the rakes yet to be approved by the railways, the supplier is not at fault,” said a railway officer.

According to the contract, the German company was initially supposed to supply material for two rakes to the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai and following an approval after field trials in Mumbai, was supposed to supply the equipment for the remaining rakes.

One rake each arrived in Mumbai in September and October 2013, and since then went through various tests both inside the car shed as well as field trials on both the Central Railway and Western Railway. A report of the trials was submitted to the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in August, following which it was sent to the CRS. Subsequently, the two rakes were sent for a few more trials by the CRS.

“The coupler trials were conducted and a report was submitted. There are a few more things that are pending and the RDSO has been asked to send the report,” said Chetan Bakshi, CRS . “The field test for the first Siemens rake took six months, which itself was considered to be too long. However, when it comes to the Bombardier rake, there seems to be no definite answer on when the rake will be commissioned,” a senior railway officer said.

According to estimates, if the rakes are given a green signal by the end of this year, the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, will be able to send two more rakes by March 2015.

priyal.dave@expressindia.com