Date: 2025-06-23Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Siemens & Alstom, Both the firms Capable to Manufacture 9000 Horse Power Locomotive took part in Dahod factory bid in 2022; Siemens won it, as it was the lowest bidder with highly competitive price
In 2022, the Ministry of Railways awarded Siemens a contract to manufacture 9000 horsepower locomotives at the Dahod factory. The bidding process, which involved Siemens and Alstom, was conducted transparently, with Siemens winning due to its lowest bid. The evaluation was performed by technical and financial experts, adhering to established Indian Railways procedures. The project significantly boosts indigenous manufacturing, aligning with the 'Make in India' vision, as over 89% of the locomotive components are manufactured in India. The locomotives will be maintained at four depots: Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur, and Pune. The Ministry of Railways emphasizes that the tender process followed all rules, with no conflict of interest and no involvement of the Minister of Railways in the evaluation process.
Key Entities Referenced
Siemens: A global electric locomotive manufacturer that participated in the Dahod factory bid and won it.
Alstom: A global electric locomotive manufacturer that participated in the Dahod factory bid.
9000 Horse Power Locomotive: Type of locomotive being manufactured in the Dahod factory bid.
Dahod factory: Location of the locomotive manufacturing project. Dahod is a city in Gujarat, India, but the text only refers to Dahod factory.
Indian Railways: The government organization overseeing the locomotive manufacturing project and tender process.
Make in India: A Government of India initiative to encourage domestic manufacturing.
Railway Board Members: Empowered officials within Indian Railways responsible for tender approvals.
Visakhapatnam: One of the four depots where locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be maintained. It is a city in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Raipur: One of the four depots where locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be maintained. It is a city in Chhattisgarh, India.
Kharagpur: One of the four depots where locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be maintained. It is a city in West Bengal, India.
Pune: One of the four depots where locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be maintained. It is a city in Maharashtra, India.
Ministry of Railways
Siemens & Alstom, Both the firms Capable to
Manufacture 9000 Horse Power Locomotive took
part in Dahod factory bid in 2022; Siemens won it, as
it was the lowest bidder with highly competitive price
Team of technical and financial experts evaluated
the bid in line with due transparent processes that
Indian railways has always followed
Over 89% Components of Dahod locomotives are
made in India; Project is a Major Boost to Indigenous
Manufacturing and 'Make in India' Vision of Indian
Railways
Posted On: 23 JUN 2025 6:29PM by PIB Delhi
This is regarding some questions, which are being raised on the 2022 bidding process, involving the
manufacturing of locomotives in Dahod. Following are the facts in this regard.
Transparent tender process: The tender for manufacturing and maintaining 9,000 hp electric locomotives
was executed in a transparent manner. There are two electric locomotive manufacturers globally who have the
capability to design and manufacture 9000 hp electric locomotives - Alstom and Siemens - both of them
participated in the tender.
Evaluation process: The tender was evaluated by a team of technical and financial experts, in line with the
processes that Indian railways has always followed. In technical evaluation, both Alstom and Siemens were
equally placed. In the financial bid, the bidder with the lowest price was awarded the contract.
Transparent price discovery: The price discovered through this transparent method is highly competitive.
The contract is as per the tender documents. There is no change in the tender conditions.
Professional evaluation, no conflict of interest: The entire tender process was executed by the teams of
officers who are technically and financially competent to handle such matters as per rules. There is no
question of conflict of interest because the process was followed as per rules and procedures that Indian
Railways has always followed. There is no role of the Minister of Railways in the tender evaluation process.
From 2016 onwards, Railway Ministers ceased to approve tenders. All approvals are handled by empowered
Railway Board Members and zonal units, ensuring complete institutional transparency, neutrality and
delegation of power. Moreover, both Siemens and Alstom have been working with Indian Railways for many
decades.
Guaranteed reliability based agreements: Over the past two decades, Indian Railways has been moving tolife cycle cost based procurements so that reliability of products increases and thereby safety of passengers
increases.
Components manufacturing: As per the current manufacturing process, about 89% of the components used
in manufacture of Dahod locomotives are made in India. Railway component manufacturing ecosystem is
rapidly growing in India. A locomotive is a very complex machine and its components are equally complex.
They are manufactured at various locations in India and supplied to various locomotive manufacturers. Very
few countries in the world can claim the level of manufacturing components that India has been able to
achieve because of the thrust given to manufacturing in the last decade.
Maintenance: The locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be maintained at four depots - Visakhapatnam,
Raipur, Kharagpur, and Pune.
*****
Dharmendra Tewari/Shatrunjay Kumar
(Release ID: 2138973)