East Central Railway has invited ₹4,039.75 crore EPC bids for the Koderma Detour section of the Sonnagar to Andal third and fourth line project, covering tunnels, viaducts, bridges and earthwork, with bids closing on 5 January 2027.
The biggest railway civil package on our list right now
This tender covers construction of a new double line track for dedicated freight corridor loading from Chainage 158.00 to Chainage 184.00 in the Koderma Detour section, part of the Sonnagar to Andal third and fourth line project in Dhanbad Division. The scope named in the tender is wide: viaducts, road over rail and road flyover structures, major and minor bridges, an animal underpass, road under bridges and low height subways, tunnel and cut-and-cover sections, earthwork, blanketing, trolley refuges, turfing, buildings, retaining walls and toe walls.
Twenty-six kilometres carrying that mix of structures is heavy construction in every sense. The Sonnagar to Andal corridor is the eastern arm of the freight network, and a detour alignment through the Koderma stretch means grades and terrain that force tunnelling and elevated structures instead of a simple formation.
Who can realistically bid
At ₹4,039.75 crore with an earnest money deposit of ₹80,79,49,800, this is national EPC territory. The EMD works out to exactly two per cent of the estimate, which is the standard railway figure and a clean cross-check on the value. There is no tender fee at all, and the contract is on EPC mode, so design responsibility sits with the contractor.
The long runway matters here. Bids close on 5 January 2027, which is four months away, and a pre-bid conference has already been held with the meeting details published alongside the tender. Amendment No. 4, dated 31 August 2026, is in the document set. For a package of this size that window is the point: qualification, joint-venture formation and design partner selection all take time.
For machine owners, the read is different. Nobody with a small fleet bids this. What follows an award of this size is two or three years of subcontract and hire demand across the Koderma belt, and that is worth tracking now rather than after the award.
The fleet a DFCC package puts to work
Tunnel and cut-and-cover work, viaducts and 26 km of formation pull in almost every category at once. Bulk earthwork and blanketing run on large excavators, dozers and high-capacity tipper fleets, with crushers feeding blanket material that has to meet railway specification rather than general fill.
Structures bring cranes and launching equipment for viaduct and bridge spans, piling rigs for foundations, and concrete mixers with batching capacity close to the alignment. Formation and approach work needs motor graders and heavy compactors, while wheel loaders keep material moving at the stockpiles. Owners planning to put machines on hire against a package like this can read our equipment finance guide.
Key facts
Tender ID
IREPS-ECR-CAO-C-S-EPC-01-26-27
Reference no.
ECR-CAO-C-S-EPC-01-26-27
Issuing authority
Chief Administrative Officer, Construction South, HQ Engineering, East Central Railway
Location
Koderma Detour section, Chainage 158.00 to 184.00, Dhanbad Division, Jharkhand
Search by tender ID IREPS-ECR-CAO-C-S-EPC-01-26-27 (reference no. ECR-CAO-C-S-EPC-01-26-27) under East Central Railway.
Register on IREPS and keep a valid Class III digital signature certificate ready.
Download the RFP, the EPC document, the drawings link and Amendment No. 4 dated 31 August 2026, then check qualification criteria and arrange the ₹80,79,49,800 EMD. There is no tender fee.
₹4,039.75 crore, with an earnest money deposit of ₹80,79,49,800 and no tender fee. It is the largest package currently listed in our opportunities section.
What work does it include?
A new double line for dedicated freight corridor loading over 26 km, including viaducts, major and minor bridges, road over rail and road under bridge structures, an animal underpass, tunnel and cut-and-cover sections, earthwork, blanketing, buildings and retaining walls.
When is the deadline?
Bids close on 5 January 2027. A pre-bid conference has been held and Amendment No. 4 was issued on 31 August 2026.
Can a smaller contractor take part?
Not as the main bidder at this value. The practical route for smaller firms and machine owners is subcontract packages and equipment hire once the contract is awarded.
Tender details are summarised for convenience and may change. Always verify the latest dates, terms and documents on the official tendering portal before bidding. DesiMachines is not responsible for changes made by the issuing authority.
Bidding with your own machines?Tenders often ask for machine papers such as the RC, insurance and invoice. Keep them in one private place on My Machine and get a reminder before insurance or service falls due. Free.
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