Chennai (Metro Rail News): Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) opened technical bids on Wednesday; Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Ohmi Industries Ltd. emerged as the only bidders for the head-hardened rail contract for line 3 and 5.
These special tracks will be 60E1 – 1080 grade, as per Indian Railway Specification T-12-2009, and will be produced using a unique heat treatment technology to increase strength, reduce residual stress, extend track life, and minimise maintenance.
Both of these new lines will connect Madhavaram – SIPCOT (45.813 km Line-3) and Madhavaram – Sholinganallur (47 km Line-5) with a combination of elevated and underground stations as part of Chennai Metro’s 118.9 km Phase 2 project.
In August 2021, CMRL invited tenders for this track contract, which is being funded by JICA and has a budget of Rs. 88.1 crore and a delivery deadline of 1632 days (4.47 years). Supply of 60E1 Profile, 1080 Grade (Head Hardened) Rails Conforming to IRS T-12-2009 (with latest amendments for CMRL Phase-II Project for Corridor 3&5 are some of the scopes for the project.
Mitsui delivered 10,600 metric tonnes of head hardened rails to the Ahmedabad Metro Phase 1 project and is now delivering to the Bangalore Metro Phase 2 project.
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL) did not bid for this contract, presumably because its internal ROI calculations showed no significant benefits. However, they are the only Indian train company capable of producing these specific rails. Their most recent win was in 2020 for delivering 2,308 tonnes of HH rails to Kolkata Metro’s Line-2.
The bids from Mitsui & Ohmi have now been forwarded for technical bid evaluation, which could take a few months. After that, the financial bids of the technically qualified bidders will be opened to determine who is the lowest bidder and most likely supplier.
