Vande Bharat: The good and the bad

New Delhi: First, the good news: Bulk awards for the manufacture of the premier Vande Bharat trains are likely to happen in November. The first bid - to build 200 chair car variants of the gen-next self-propelled train sets - will open on November 15. In quick succession, two other bids for the manufacture of 100 plus 100 sleeper class trains will open on November 22 and November 29 respectively. These contracts will be worth a whopping Rs. 1lakh crore.

The not-so-good news is this: Given the enormous size and complexities of the contractual agreement, both parties - private players and the Indian Railways - appear to be experiencing last-minute glitches.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced plans to run 75 trains by August 2023, while 100 Vande Bharat trains are expected to run along the Indian countryside by March 2024. In all, 400 Vande Bharat trains are planned to be built. But, as goes the cliche, there's a lot that can happen between the cup and the lip.

From private trains to private manufacturing

The record of the Indian Railways in executing projects has been unimpressive. The Kashmir Rail link project has been lingering for almost two decades. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed line has been delayed by about five years.

In between, big-ticket schemes announced with great fanfare have been inexplicably and summarily dropped.

One example: The private trains plan had apparently consumed the minds of the IR managers in 2016. The Spanish Talgo - with its tilting train technology - had even conducted successful trials on operating their trains at a top speed of 180 kmph on existing Indian tracks. But the plan was summarily dropped like a hot potato.

From private trains, IR has moved on to the concept of private manufacturing of trains.

As the Vande Bharat tender documents reveal, private firms - for the first time in India - will be awarded the contract to manufacture the complete fleet - and not merely the propulsion systems and components.

The Indian Railways will provide access to its manufacturing units, train set depots and washing lines - as also the manpower that will work under the "supervision and technical control of the technology partner".

Salary and allowances of IR staff will be paid by the public transporter, while the government will also provide basic civil structure with electrical fittings, cranes, tracks, and OHE systems - besides free electricity and water supply.

IR will also be obligated to purchase these train sets and also disburse an annual maintenance fee to the technology partner - estimated at 3.5 percent of the total contract value.

Given the terms of the bid documents, sections of IR officials say that the Vande Bharat contracts will not contribute to the country's industrial growth, as no transfer of technology will happen.

"The project amounts to nothing but privatisation through the back door", said a former IR official. Meanwhile, rail unions have also raised the red flag, demanding that a portion of the manufacturing contract be awarded to the rail manufacturing units.

"We have sought a meeting with Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw to discuss the issue", said Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of the All India Railwaymen Federation (AIRF).

Among the bidders for the upcoming Vande Bharat contracts, only Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) is a public sector company.

Private players, on the other hand, have objections about the clause for a 35-year maintenance contract - even as the codal life of Indian coaches is only 25 years.

Why so many?

Air-conditioned train travel has traditionally constituted a small component of the total passenger traffic. There are already 50-odd premier trains - Rajdhanis and Shatabdis - plying on the network.

With 400 Vande Bharat's expected to rain down the network in coming years, IR's philosophy on the social obligation is likely to get compromised - as the unreserved passenger trains are likely to come down the pecking order further. Travel on the Vande Bharat, on the other hand, is unlikely to come cheap.

"Non-AC passengers can only shift to the Vande Bharat if prices are rationalised", a former official said. The AC locals in Mumbai had been unable to generate passenger traffic until IR decided to slash prices by one-third.

Sometime earlier, IR had launched the Shatabdi on the Patna-Howrah route but had to suspend services because of poor passenger traffic. The two earlier versions of the Vande Bharat - being run on the Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra routes -are also not the most popular in terms of passenger response.

Sections of IR officials feel that the success of the Vande Bharat will depend on IR's ability to provide for matching infrastructure such as fencing of routes.

Vande Bharats are sleek, modern trains; but are currently being run at much less the design speed. In the coming months, travel time on the Vande Bharat will need to be reduced. As is the case, traditional loco-hauled trains already have the capability to run at speeds of 160 kmph but are being operated at lesser speed because of the absence of matching infrastructure.