Bombardier Transportation, suppliers of cars to the Delhi Metro, hopes to bag more such orders in India. Top officials of the company, who were at the Emerging Kerala event in Kochi, said the company is keen to bid for the Kochi metro and the proposed monorail projects in Thiruvanathapuram and Kozhikode.
Harsh Dhingra, Chief Country Representative of Bombardier in India, said the company’s plant in Gujarat has the capacity to make cars for these projects.
Do you have any edge over other players in India?
Currently, in metro cars, we’re the only company in India which happens to be the technology provider as well. At Bombardier, we have the in-house technology, based on which we manufacture the cars. Our plant in Gujarat has the capacity to make 30 cars a month.
What about BEML?
BEML is only an assembler. Rotem is the technology provider. From that perspective, we have an edge over them.
Alstom, which got the Chennai order, has its own technology?
Oh, yes, you’re right. But I’m comparing with BEML, because they are already in the market. Alstom is coming three years down the line.
Is your Gujarat plant equipped to make cars for both metro and mono rail?
Metro cars are made of stainless steel, which we are already making. For monorail we will have to make a slight modification as those cars are made of aluminium and are light-weight. We can make both types of cars at the same plant. We don’t see any problem.
Do you need to raise capacity if you get the Kochi order?
No, the current capacity is more than sufficient. In fact, we created the capacity keeping in mind that we can supply 360 cars a year. And we expect total market on an all-India basis to be not more than 2,000 cars over the next five years.
For Kochi what could be the ideal car capacity?
It all depends on the capacity they have identified. The advantage with monorail is that you can start with two cars and then add, based on the capacity.
So, you can go up to eight cars. Kochi is a metro. What Kochi is saying is that, to begin with, it will have three-car trains. Subsequently, it will be increased to a six cars.
In the case of monorail projects, you can have a three-car train, and based on the capacity, you can have it raise it to four, five or even six depending on the volumes.
Are you interested only in suppling cars?
We are interested in supply of cars and signalling systems and also their maintenance. Delhi Metro, and other metro systems, are maintaining the cars on their own. But in the case of the monorails, the cars will be maintained by the rolling stock supplier. Current contracts demand that not only do we supply the cars but also maintain them.
It is beneficial for them, otherwise, they would need to set up a different organisation for this. But the final decision is to be taken by the authority which places the contract.
To what extent is the Gujarat plant indigenised?
Currently, in the metro cars that we make 75 per cent of the components are manufactured in India. Out of this, almost 40 per cent are manufactured by Bombardier itself. Like the propulsions, that go into the metro cars, are made by Bombardier.
The bogies on which the rail cars are stationed are also manufactured in India. So, 40 per cent of the production is done by Bombardier itself. And then we have the international suppliers of brake systems or door systems, but all of them have a base in India. So, 75 per cent of the people are based in India.
That is why we say that while we are a multinational company, we have ensured that the parts for metro cars are available within India.
Is there any stipulation on indigenisation?
There’s a stipulation from the Delhi Metro. Delhi Metro has gone with the objective that over a long period, once the warranty gets over, they should be able to get the spares within India. So, they have identified certain items, some 10 to 12, which have to be localised.
Are you interested in the high-speed train project in Kerala?
Oh yes, by all means. We’re among the leaders in high speed sector. We’re looking at the high-speed market, not only in Kerala but also in other projects being planned by the Central Government, such as the one from Pune to Ahmedabad.
These projects require huge investments. As long as the State Government stays committed to providing funds for the Kerala project, this project is viable.
If the Government backs out, then there is a difficulty, because no private party will come forwards to assume the risk and run the project.