No bidders participated for greenfield locomotive factories

New Delhi: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's plan to start work on greenfield electric and diesel locomotive factories at Madhepura and Marhowra in Bihar came to fall out due to the global economic slowdown.

None of the three international players Alstom (France), Bombardier (Germany) and Siemens (Germany) who had been shortlisted after the technical bids for the Madhepura factory, have participated in the financial bid for the Rs 1,300 crore project.

For the Rs 1,400-crore Marhowra factory, only one out the two shortlisted players GE has put in the financial bid with the other player, EMD, not bidding.

'Efforts are being made to start work on the diesel and electric locomotive factories at Marhowra and Madhepura in this month,' he stated in the Interim Rail Budget for 2009-10. Rail Bhavan officials admit they were under explicit instructions to fast track both the projects.