INDIA: Kochi Metro Rail Ltd has revealed the future appearance of the 25 Metropolis trainsets which are to be supplied by Alstom Transport’s s Sricity plant.
Alstom’s Design & Styling department at Saint-Ouen in France collaborated on the design with KMRL and Tata Elxsi, which devised the livery. Their brief was to reflect ‘the culture, heritage and heartbeat of Kochi’, so the trains will ‘blend seamlessly into the city’ when the 25·6 km metro opens in 2016.
The 1 435 mm gauge three-car trainsets will be 65 m long with wide walk-through gangways and four doors per car side. They will have a maximum speed of 80 km/h, and be powered from a 750 V DC third-rail supply. The turquoise train fronts will have a ‘distinctive’ curve and LED lights in the shape of elephant tusks, ‘an iconic symbol of India’. The line will be entirely elevated, and the lights ‘will illuminate the city at night’.
The train sides will be stainless steel, with aluminium and composite panels. Faiveley Transport is to supply the braking systems, couplers, external doors and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems as subcontractor to Alstom.
The interior is intended to provide a feeling of ‘serenity and security’ with turquoise and lemon chosen as ‘bright, harmonious colours’. The trainsets will have a capacity of 975 passengers, with 136 easy-clean composite seats in a longitudinal arrangement. Priority seats will have cushions, and there will be dedicated wheelchair spaces.
‘The design of the Kochi metro has set a new benchmark in urban mobility in India with its aesthetically-pleasing and stylish designs and technological innovations promoting greener urban transportation in the country’, said Xavier Allard, Director, Design & Styling, Alstom Transport.
