In New Delhi: Despite worries about international sanctions, the Indian Railways has a contract with the Indo-Russian Joint Venture Kinet Railway Solutions. The production of Vande Bharat trains is covered by the joint contract.
According to the contract’s stipulations, Kinet Railway Solutions would manufacture 120 Vande Bharat passenger sleeper train sets and offer maintenance services for 35 years. After two years from the contract’s signing, the Vande Bharat sleeper rake’s first prototype will be available.
The Russian and Indian businesses are also a part of Kinet Railway Solutions. The Russian companies Metrowagonmash (MWM) and Locomotive Electronic Systems (LES), as well as the Indian company Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), are partners in the joint venture.
This is a significant development in the context of American sanctions, according to experts. On September 14, 2023, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned a number of Russian organizations, businesses, and technology suppliers.
Sanctions have been placed on Transmash, Russian oligarch Andrei Removich Bokarev, and his spouse Olga Vladimirovna Syrovatskaya. The company that controls MWM, Transmashholding JSC Group (Transmash), was presided over by Bokarev. Transmash is a well-known manufacturer of locomotives and rail equipment. According to TOI, MWM is one of the partners in the joint venture Kinet Railway Solutions.
Suggestions that sanctions will hinder the Vande Bharat train project were refuted by Kinet Railway Solutions. They are certain that the project will be finished since they are dedicated to upholding their end of the bargain.
According to TOI’s report, one issue that has plagued the partnership between MWM, LES, and RVNL since it was founded is the split in ownership between the Indian and Russian partners. This issue led to a delay in the contract with the Indian Railways.