After Getting Bids From Chinese Firm, Indian Railways Cancels Tender For 44 Vande Bharat Trains

New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Friday (August 21) has cancelled the tender for manufacturing 44 semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express trains, which was floated last year. The project that has been cancelled due to CRRC corporation, a Chinese joint venture firm that had emerged as the only foreign player among the six contenders for the supply of electrical equipment and other items for the 44 train sets of 16 coaches each.

Tender for manufacturing of 44 nos of semi high speed train sets (Vande Bharat) has been cancelled.

Fresh tender will be floated within a week as per Revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) order.

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) August 21, 2020

“Tender for manufacturing of 44 nos of semi high-speed train sets (Vande Bharat) has been cancelled. The fresh tender will be floated within a week as per Revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) order,” the Railway Ministry said in a tweet.

Following the India-China border standoff, there were calls to bar the Chinese JV (CRRC Corporation) from the tender process. Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had also written to Union Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal to remove the Chinese company from the bidding process.

Earlier, the Railways has also scrapped a tender for thermal cameras meant for ‘COVID surveillance’ after Indian firms alleged that the tender specifications favoured a Chinese company.