Alstom has been awarded a 98 million euro contract by the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL), to design, manufacture, supply, test, and commission 78 metro coaches; they will operate on the 26km corridor (Phase-II) that will connect Poonamallee Bypass to Light House through 28 stations (18 elevated and 10 underground).
Scope of the contract includes manufacturing 26 metro trains (three-car configuration) that can operate at a top speed of 50mph, as well as training of personnel. Moreover, the metro trains are designed and engineered to run driverless via unattended train operations (UTOs) that are monitored from the operations control centre.
In line with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ vision, these metro cars will be 100% indigenously manufactured at one of Alstom’s largest urban rolling stock manufacturing facilities. Based in Sricity, Andhra Pradesh, it has an annual capacity of producing 480 cars and a history of manufacturing for several domestic and international metro projects.
Olivier Loison, Alstom India’s managing director, said: “Our manufacturing journey in India began with the trains for Chennai Metro Phase-I in 2014, which was also the first rolling stock order win for us in the country. This new win brings us immense pride and we are honoured to be reliable partners in improving Chennai’s urban transportation network.”
Previously, Alstom has manufactured and delivered 208 metro cars for the 54km of first phase and extension of Corridor-I from the Airport to Wimco Nagar and Corridor-II from Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount. These trains are equipped with automatic train protection (ATP), automatic train operation (ATO), and regenerative braking for significant energy savings. In addition to this, the company has successfully designed, tested, and commissioned the track-works covering 45km of corridors I and II for the Chennai Metro.