DECEMBER 202419Creation of dedicated freight corridors to facilitate the seamless movement of goods across the country, & replenish freight wagon holdingonly the locomotive at the head of the train, and the remaining coaches, sometimes up to 24 coaches, are trailing. Whereas in EMU trainsets the tractive effort is shared by several motor coaches spread over length of the train, hence making them better for acceleration and energy management. Such new generation of Trainsets are being introduced like VandeBharat (up to 160Kmph for long distance, chair car & sleeper), VandeMetro (up to 100Km, chair car), and even a plan for VandeBharat-Freight, for high-value time-sensitive cargo. These new generation of trains are being built both by IR as well as private companies who have been awarded turnkey contracts including design, manufacture, supply, and maintenance of up to 35 years.Our company, Hind Rectifiers Ltd (www.hirect.com) has been in the business of designing and manufacturing electronics, electrical, electro-mechanical power conversion products for the last 65 years, and have been exporting to more than 25 countries globally. In the rail sector, we have been supplying and maintaining Class A equipment like state-of-the-art IGBT based converters, transformers, traction motors, electrical panels, HVAC, etc for all types of railway rolling stock. For companies like HIRECT, it is both a challenge and an opportunity to design and develop at a faster pace sub-systems for these new generation of rolling stock in India. What are the primary obstacles facing the growth of the railway equipment market in India?IR has been traditionally procuring complete wagons for freight, and manufacturing all locomotives, coaches at seven production units owned by it. There is an equipment wise approval / enlistment of vendors, and sub-systems are procured from enlisted vendors via a tendering process. Since there thousands of parts and enlisted vendors, IR's relation with vendors has been transactional. Once a vendor meets the specifications, he is entitled to get orders based on lowest quoted prices, which are subject to further downward pressure using reverse auctioning. Since the vendors obligation is limited to meeting the specifications which are often not revised for several years, there is no motivation for vendors to innovate, and invest in new technology. Introduction of new vendors and technologies takes several years due to the bureaucratic process involved. There have been instances where vendors have invested in developing solutions to meet IR's new requirements however these concepts have not fructified due moving goalposts and changing policies.How are sustainability concerns changing the dynamics of the railway equipment market in India?IR has is close to achieving 100 percent electrification of its network with a focus on reducing its carbon footprint and contribute to sustainable development. The railways are adopting various measures, such as the deploying energy efficient and braking energy recovery from modern rolling stock. Renewable energy is being implement in productions units, stations, and even on roofs of rolling stock. Since Diesel based rolling stock has been phased out, demand for electrical train aggregates has surged. Moreover with increasing population of energy efficient EMU trainsets, equipment suppliers are now aligning themselves to cater to this new design of aggregates. IR is also introducing hydrogen
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