Alstom & Siemens Bid for Delhi – Meerut RRTS’ Signalling System

Alstom and Siemens are the two firms that have submitted bids for providing the signaling, train control and telecommunication system (Package 24) of the under construction 82.15 km Delhi – Meerut RRTS Line, after officials from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) opened tenders minutes ago to reveal its list of bidders.

Per the system specifications issued by NCRTC, the Delhi – Meerut RRTS line will be the first in India to adopt the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 signalling system which is the core signalling and train control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) of standards.

NCRTC had invited tenders (bids) for this systems-package in April funded through government sources and the New Development Bank (NDB)’s $500 million loan. They estimate it to cost $139.99 million (approx. Rs. 1026.66 crore) and expect the assigned contractor to complete work in 1613 days (4.4 years) from when the contract is awarded.

Bidders:

• Alstom Transport India Ltd.
• Siemens Ltd.

Tender No: Package 24 – DM/ST/COR-OF/100

Brief Scope: Design, Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Signalling and Train Control and Telecommunication Systems for Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut RRTS Corridor of NCRTC.

The bids for both have now been sent for technical evaluation which is expected to take about half a year to get completed. When that is done, the financial bids of the technically qualified bidders will be opened to reveal who’s the lowest bidder and most likely vendor.

As explained earlier, ETCS is reportedly the most advanced train control system operational in the world and provides continuous supervision & communication for safely traveling at high speeds, and will be instrumental on the RRTS network where Bombardier trains (see design released last week) will run with a maximum speed of 160 kmph to reduce the journey time from Delhi to Meerut to just 60 minutes

Here’s a cool, somewhat grainy, video from Thales explaining the benefits of ETCS Level 2. For further reading, see this page on Thales’ site with illustrations of levels 1 to 3.

The operational control centre (OCC) for the entire RRTS network will be established in Jangpura near the Sarai Kale Khan terminal where additional stabling lines will be built – connected by civil Package 6 (recently won by Afcons Infrastructure) – to monitor and track train speed, movement, traction, and other auxilliary equipment in real time via large electronic displays.

For more updates, check out the NCR RRTS section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG