Induction Of More Indian Railways Train-18 Rakes May Be Delayed As Key Equipment Supplier Backs Out

In a big setback for the Indian Railways' plan to induct over Vande Bharat Express trains from Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai in a span of three years, the supplier of crucial three phase insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) propulsion system has backed out, reports Times of India.

The supplier was expecting to receive a Letter of Authorisation (LoA) to supply the for 80 per cent of the trains on order from the Indian railways, which makes up for 32 trains in total. However, the company is said to have received the order for supplying components for the third and fourth rakes of the Train-18 only.

With this unexpected logjam for the ICF, it will take several months to identify another contractor to supply the propulsion system, which would lead to major delays for all future Vande Bharat Express launch plans of the Indian Railways.

Given the seriousness of the matter, the Railway Board officials held a meeting with the ICF officials in Delhi to wire out the issue. Last week, the contractor too was called to renegotiate the deal, but the talks have been inconclusive so far.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the second rake of the Train-18 platform has already been departed from the ICF unit in Chennai and is likely to be used as the standby for Vande Bharat Express which presently runs between New Delhi and Varanasi.