News: Biggies in race for Delhi airport rail link project

(BL 14/02/2007) New Delhi - Domestic and multinational biggies including Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, DLF, GMR, GVK, IL&FS, Reliance Energy and French firm Veolia Transportation are engaged in hectic negotiations to form consortia and bid for managing the high-speed rail link that would connect the international airport in New Delhi with the city centre.

Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens are also trying to get a pie of business in metro projects of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad and Chandigarh, which are in various stages of implementation.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has invited expressions of interest from firms to design, supply, install, commission and operate the 19-km rail link for 30 years. The civil works for the project would be handled by DMRC. The consortium which gets the concession will have to install all systems including rolling stock, overhead electrification, track, signalling and telecommunication, ventilation and air-conditioning, automatic fare collection, baggage check-in and handling, depot and other facilities.

Partnership options

None of the companies, however, are willing to divulge their partnerships. Most of them maintain that they are weighing various options. DMRC has mandated that one of the consortium members should have been a major partner of at least one such project.

Confirming Bombardier's participation in the airport rail link project, the company's Managing Director Mr Rajeev Jyoti said, "Bombardier is a member of consortium involved in financing, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of the 80-km Gautrain Rail Link in South Africa."

"Alstom has provided metro turnkey solutions that include project coordination, designing, building, commissioning and maintaining metros in Sao Paulo and Cairo.