French rail company Alstom to manufacture 100 lightweight Vande Bharat trains
The Hindu
The train is pegged to have a speed capability of 200 km per hour.
French rail company Alstom will manufacture 100 aluminium bodied Vande Bharat trains with sleeper facility, after bidding the lowest for the tender at a price of ₹150.9 crore per train.
Two companies — Alstom and Hyderabad-based Medha Servo Drives — had participated in the tender. Medha bid at a price of ₹169 crore per train.
Aluminium bodied trains will be lighter in weight as compared to a stainless steel body.
The train is pegged to have a speed capability of 200 km per hour.
Currently, Vande Bharat Express trains are manufactured at an average cost ₹120 crore per train. Sudhanshu Mani, former General Manager at the Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai, and creator of the Vande Bharat trains, said, “Will ₹30 crore higher price be justified for 200 kmph capability, and what about the track [quality] and energy efficiency?”
The current plan, in works by the Indian Railways, is to upgrade tracks in certain sections to run trains at 160 kmph. At present, Vande Bharat Express trains run at not more than 80 to 90 kmph in a majority of the sections due to the inability of the tracks to sustain high speeds.
The order for 100 aluminium bodied trains is in addition to 120 trains to be manufactured by Russian TMH and Indian public sector undertaking RVNL consortium, as well as 80 trains to be manufactured by the Titagarh Wagons and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) consortium.
Mercedes-Benz India CEO advocates for rationalizing customs duties on luxury cars to boost demand and tax revenue in India.
IDBI Bank's Q3 net profit rises slightly to ₹1,935 crore, with total income and interest income declining.
HDFC Bank Ltd., India’s largest private sector bank, reported 11.5% growth in net profit for the quarter ended 31 December 2026 at ₹18,654 crore compared with ₹16,735.5 crore a year ago.
When Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, recently spoke about the transformative potential of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), a technology for autonomous driving in India, he framed it as a critical lever for safer roads, smarter traffic management and future-ready mobility. That vision is already finding concrete expression inside Samsung Electronics-owned HARMAN Automotive’s India operations, which are emerging as a global hub for software-defined and connected vehicle technologies, says Krishna Kumar, Managing Director and Automotive Head, HARMAN India.
Instituting production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to curtail import dependency on critical components in the longer-term, and rationalising import duties for support in the short term, forms the core of the wind energy producers’ wish list in the upcoming Union Budget.
ICICI Bank Ltd., the second largest private sector bank, for the third quarter ended 31 December 2025 reported 4% drop in net profit to ₹11,318 crore as compared to ₹ 11,792 crore in the year ago period on account of making additional standard asset provision of ₹1,283 crore during the quarter as per direction of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
HDFC Bank's Q3 profit rises 12% to ₹19,807 crore, driven by increased net interest and non-interest income.
RBL Bank's Q3 net profit skyrockets 555% to ₹214 crore, driven by improved asset quality and strong retail advances.
Yes Bank's Q3 net profit rises 55% to ₹952 crore, showcasing improved asset quality and growth in key financial metrics.
India's GTRI calls for a comprehensive overhaul of import tariffs and customs processes to enhance trade efficiency and boost exports.
Equity markets NSE and BSE will operate normally on Budget day, February 1, 2026, for live trading sessions.
OpenAI announced Friday it will begin testing advertisements on ChatGPT in the coming weeks
The oil and gas industry urges Union Budget reforms, including cess review, exploration incentives, and GST inclusion for natural gas.