Railway Ministry rejects ‘conflict of interest’ charges over Siemens securing multi-crore Dahod locomotives tender

Indian Railways on Monday, June 23, responded to questions raised about German manufacturer Siemens securing a multi-crore 9,000 horsepower Dahod locomotive project by explaining the bidding process carried out in 2022.

The Indian National Congress (INC) on Monday questioned Indian Railways over the process through which the ₹26,000 crore railway contract was granted to the manufacturer while alleging a conflict of interest issue, reported the news agency PTI. 

Congress leader Brijendra Singh raised the alleged conflict of interest issue as Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had previously been a vice president of Siemens India, the same company which won the railway contract.

“What sounds more concerning is that the current Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has been a vice president of Siemens India in the past. He was earlier employed by both Siemens and GE Transportation, companies which have vested interests in India's railway sector,” said Singh, according to the agency report.

The opposition party demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the contract, while Indian Railways dismissed the allegation by terming it “misleading,” as per the agency report. 

“This raises a direct question of conflict of interest, especially since Siemens secured its largest-ever contract in India under his tenure as Railway Minister. Is this a coincidence, or a clear case of conflict of interest?” Singh was quoted as saying in the report.

Railway's clarification

The Ministry of Railways issued an official statement assuring the public that the tender allotment for the 9,000 horsepower Dahod locomotive project was executed transparently.

“The tender for manufacturing and maintaining 9,000 hp electric locomotives was executed in a transparent manner. There are two electric locomotive manufacturers globally who have the capability to design and manufacture 9000 hp electric locomotives - Alstom and Siemens - both of them participated in the tender,” said the Railways Ministry. 

The Ministry further said that the tender offer was evaluated by a team of technical and financial experts, keeping in mind the processes that are required in Indian Railways.

“The price discovered through this transparent method is highly competitive. The contract is as per the tender documents. There is no change in the tender conditions,” it said in the release.

Rejecting the conflict of interest claims of the Congress, the Ministry said there is no involvement of the Minister of Railways in the tender evaluation process.

“There is no role of the Minister of Railways in the tender evaluation process,” said the Railway Ministry in the release.

The Ministry also said that nearly 89 per cent of the components used in the manufacturing of the 9,000 horsepower locomotives are made in India, and the maintenance will be carried out at four railway depots, namely, Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur, and Pune.