India's Domestic High-Speed Trains: Designed for 280 km/h, to Serve Mumbai-Ahmedabad Route

India will develop a batch of domestically manufactured high-speed trains with a designed operating speed of 280 km/h in Bengaluru, led by state-owned enterprise BEML. These trains are planned to be put into service on the 558-kilometer-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail line, which specifically includes a 22-kilometer-long dedicated undersea tunnel, creating a unique scenario for train operations.

As per the plan, the delivery of the trains will start in the second quarter of 2026. After delivery, BEML will also undertake a 15-year maintenance service. Furthermore, BEML is considering deepening cooperation with Knorr-Bremse and plans to purchase an additional 10 trains of the same model to further enhance the transport capacity of the route.

In terms of cooperative enterprises, Knorr-Bremse has a long-standing presence in the Indian market: it has established competence centers in Palwal and Pune, and in 2025, it added a new facility focusing on artificial intelligence technology in Chennai to provide technical support and production capacity guarantee for local operations. This cooperation with BEML further confirms its long-term strategy of deeply cultivating the Indian market. In fact, as early as 2023, Knorr-Bremse had already collaborated with India to supply braking systems and air conditioning systems for 52 Alstom metro trains on the Indore-Bhopal line, accumulating rich experience in local projects.

It can be seen from the current train manufacturing and cooperation plans that India's high-speed rail market is gradually releasing its growth potential. The "domestic manufacturing + international cooperation" model—where local enterprise BEML leads train manufacturing and multinational enterprise Knorr-Bremse provides technical and cooperative support—not only promotes the upgrading of India's domestic railway industry but also offers broad market space for foreign-funded enterprises. With the delivery and commissioning of the high-speed trains for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, the construction of India's high-speed rail network is expected to accelerate further, driving the coordinated development of related industrial chains.