Mumbai Metro-4 coaches: Bombardier lowest bidder, Chinese manufacturer ‘non-responsive’

Canadian company Bombardier has emerged as the lowest bidder for manufacturing 234 coaches for the Metro-4 (Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavli) and its extension line 4A (Kasarvadavli-Gaimukh). A Chinese firm had also shown interest in manufacturing the rakes in July 2020. However, according to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials, the Chinese firm – CRRC Corporation Ltd – did not qualify for the bids.

In a text message, MMRDA commissioner RA Rajeev confirmed that the Bombardier is L1 or the lowest bidder and that the bid process is still on for the tender worth ₹1,865 crore. The bid is likely to be awarded to the lowest bidder post the financial evaluation. He also said that CRRC’s bid was found to be ‘non-responsive’ or in other words not conforming to the bid’s requirements. A spokesperson for Bombardier said, “Metro cars will be produced at our Savli and Maneja sites near Vadodara.” The trains will also be designed at the engineering centre in Hyderabad.

In June 2020, CRRC and another Chinese company – BYD Co Ltd – had shown interest in manufacturing 10 additional rakes for the Mumbai Monorail. However, MMRDA had terminated the bids, stating that it would look for Indian manufacturers following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India.

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), which is manufacturing coaches for Metro-2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East), had also expressed interest in manufacturing rakes for Metro-4 and 4A.

The 32.3-km corridor will connect the city to neighbouring Thane, and is being built for ₹14,549 crore. The extension to this corridor is a 2.7-km stretch till Gaimukh along Ghodbunder Road. In November 2020, a German funding agency, KfW, had approved a loan worth ₹4,000 crore for procuring rolling stock, implementing the integrated ticketing system and multimodal integration for the two lines. The line is expected to be operational by October 2022.