PROSE Provides Procurement Support for Indian Railways

In July 2015 PROSE won its first project in India. RITES, a large Indian consulting group, commissioned PROSE with the consultancy on the drafting of procurement documents for the new self-propelled accident relief trains (SPARTs), which Indian Railways (IR) intend to put out for tender. India is going to upgrade railway lines for higher speeds and in this context IR needs SPARTs running at a speed of 200 km/h. SPARTs are DMUs, which are used to arrive at the accident sites.

They are located in strategically important yards and stations of the Indian Railways so that they can reach the accident site for rescue and relief work at a very short notice. Each SPART trainset DMU typically consists of 3 or 4 vehicles, i.e. a tool vehicle, a supervisor and staff vehicle, and a medical vehicle.

The consultancy is divided into two phases:

In phase 1 PROSE studied the technical options for the SPART and prepared a concept report outlining present technology trends for high-speed DMU trainsets used worldwide. A specific study of the track quality requirements was prepared. It explicitly included a comparison between Indian and European tracks (track irregularities) to be able to define appropriate requirements for vehicles running on upgraded lines at high speeds. This concept report enabled RITES to draft the technical manual and the financial provisions that are based on the technical aspects in the Request for Proposal for the Procurement of the SPARTs.

Phase 2 is about to commence. PROSE is going to review and modify the draft technical manual and the draft financial-technical provisions. PROSE’s recommendations are to result in concise procurement documents such as the agreement between the Indian Railways and the supplier.

This project is a showpiece for PROSE’s procurement management services and for future business in India. It also clearly demonstrates how flexibly PROSE can react on clients’ requirements and that PROSE can meet project challenges and serve the clients to their full satisfaction.