Passenger coach push tied to Mumbai suburban rail tender

The Mumbai suburban rail tender is the contract Jupiter Wagons Ltd plans to pursue. The company is entering passenger coach manufacturing. It plans ₹1,000 crore of investment over the next year. The money is for a new facility.

Also, Jupiter Wagons is based in Kolkata. It already operates in rail logistics and component manufacturing. Meanwhile, it is moving into the passenger coach segment for the first time. It is also targeting the urban metro business. At the same time, the company is aligning with the government’s push. That push is for semi-high speed and high speed rail networks.

Mumbai suburban rail tender and passenger coach plans

Investment and tender bid

In comments to ET Infra, Vivek Lohia outlined the plan. He is the Managing Director of Jupiter Wagons. In addition, he said the company will invest ₹1,000 crore. The money will go into a greenfield passenger coach manufacturing facility. The investment is planned over the next year.

“This year we will be entering the passenger business also. There is a big tender which the Indian Railways has come out with. It is the MRVC tender for the Mumbai suburban network. We are going to partner with global players and participate in that tender. We are also going to make a foray into the metro space this year,” said Lohia.

Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation Ltd floated the tender for about 2,800 passenger coaches. The plan is to completely overhaul the decades-old Mumbai Suburban Railway. It acts as the transport lifeline for the commercial capital of India. Also, the bidding process is expected to be completed by June.

“The whole tender value is approximately over ₹20,000 crore. It (tender) would most probably be divided between two players in a 60:40 ratio,” added Lohia.

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Passenger rail outlook

Separately, Lohia said the company sees strong opportunity in passenger rail. He linked that opportunity to the government’s network push. That push covers semi-high speed and high speed rail. In the Union Budget 2026-27 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced seven High-Speed Rail corridors. They are planned between cities. The label is “growth connectors.” In addition, the plan is to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems.

“..globally if you see the railway passenger business is going through a resurgence because everybody wants to provide an environmentally friendly solution. Everybody is looking at mass transit. So that is going through a resurgence not only in India but is global in demand,” said Lohia highlighting India has the potential to export such passenger coaches and components to Europe and other markets.

Meanwhile, he said work is already under way on a dedicated passenger coach manufacturing facility. Infrastructure is expected to be ready within the next year. Also, the new plant will add to the company’s units. They are in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Those units can also undertake passenger coach production.

“So initially, we will be starting with that and this is a greenfield facility where we have zeroed in on two states. We will be investing close to ₹1,000 crore in the next one year in that business,” said Lohia, adding that the new facility should be ready by the end of 2027.

Odisha wheelset expansion and export focus

Export-oriented plant

Separately, the company continues to produce brake systems, wheelsets and brake discs for trainsets. In addition, that business is expanding through a subsidiary. The subsidiary is setting up a greenfield railwheel and axle forging plant in Odisha. The plant is focused on the overseas market.

“We are setting up a new greenfield facility in Odisha. We are investing close to ₹3,000 crore in that business where we are going to be manufacturing about 100,000 wheelsets and most of our capacity there is going to be exported to the European market,” said Lohia.

Battery storage business and growth targets

BESS rollout and orders

Also, Jupiter Wagons has entered the energy transition business in recent years. It is doing this through containerised Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS. The company is offering customers an alternative to diesel generators.

“We are making a system for 5 megawatts which is the biggest system. So, typically a system can range from as low as ₹50 lakh and can go all the way up to ₹6 to ₹8 crore,” said Lohia.

For example, its subsidiary Jupiter Electric Mobility was formed two years ago. It has delivered about 50 such systems. Clients include cold storage operators, solar power producers and Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service, provided by Amazon, has used the system for outdoor location-based shootings.

“I think over the next 4-5 years, most of the generator (diesel) business will start getting more and more replaced by these (BESS) kinds of applications,” added Lohia.

Meanwhile, the company’s current order book stands at ₹5,000 crore. It aims to increase its topline. The target is ₹8,000-₹10,000 crore by the end of 2027-28 (April-March). Also, that compares with about ₹4,000 crore in 2024-25.

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