 "Bharat Salhotra, MD for Alstom India and South Asia")
As Indian cities gear up for 50 metros in the next few years, Bharat Salhotra, managing director for Alstom India and South Asia, tells Shine Jacob in an interview, standardisation will become vital. Edited excerpts:
What are the things the government must do to boost the metro investment scenario?
We believe India is a good destination, not just as a local market, but for Asia-Pacific and beyond. The government should frame a policy that provides incentives for companies that have invested here.
How do you see the growth in metro systems?
About a year ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would need 50 metros. We cannot imagine a situation where metro parts will continue to be imported. Supply chains will have to be established in India, which means multiple suppliers. For metros, manufacturers need to be close to customers. It is important for spares and maintenance of the rolling stock.
Will this not be difficult for manufacturers?
The government must start standardising metros. It can come up with three designs, one for very large metros (3.2 m wide), normal metros (2.5 m wide) and a third one for small cities like Jaipur, Varanasi, and Vijayawada. The Centre can make it mandatory that state governments opt for one of these designs to receive its 20 per cent equity.
What are the advantages of this?
Over the next four years, I expect a demand for 200-250 metro cars in India. Today, the price of a metro car is Rs 10 crore. Standardising will cut down on the cost to design and the cost to manufacture. The cost per car and time to delivery will come down.
Metro systems have a number of sub-systems like signaling, tracks, power, rolling stock and fare collection. Typically, the public authority invites separate tenders for these and then someone has to optimise the overall system. Not all the 50 metros will have the manpower to do that. You need to have alternative ideas and not to follow the package by package approach. It is not feasible in all cities.
What is the status of the Madhepura electric locomotive unit and other projects you are working on?
In Madhepura, the factory construction is on. We expect the first locomotive during the first quarter of 2018. We are planning to procure almost 85 per cent of inputs from local suppliers. We are not only making the factory but are building two depots at Saharanpur and Nagpur.
We are also working on signaling and power supply for the 343-km track of the dedicated freight corridor from Kanpur to Khurja. Land acquisition has slowed work. We expect to catch up.
