INDIA: The first of 15 six-car driverless metro trainsets that CRRC Nanjing Puzhen is supplying in partnership with domestic producer Titagarh Rail Systems for Bengaluru’s under-construction Yellow Line metro arrived at Hebbagodi depot on February 14.
The trainset had been shipped to the port of Chennai and delivered on road to Bengaluru.
Bengaluru Metro Rail Corp has awarded CRRC Nanjing Puzhen a Rs15·8bn contract in December 2019 to supply 36 six-car trainsets. Of these, 15 are being built for driverless operation with onboard CBTC and are due to be deployed on the Yellow Line. These are the first automated metro trainsets ordered by BMRCL, although initially they are expected to be operated with drivers.
The remaining 21 six-car trainsets are built to add capacity to the Purple and Green lines.
The first two prototype trainsets are being built in China and the remaining 34 will be assembled at Titagarh Rail’s plant in Kolkata. This was agreed between BMRCL and CRRC in a memorandum of understanding in July 2022 so that CRRC can comply with the ‘Make in India’ localisation requirement.
The 18·8 km Yellow Line is expected to open in the summer the earliest, depending on the delivery and commissioning of sufficient rolling stock.
It will connect Rashtreeya Vidyalaya Road on the Green Line with Bommasandra to the southeast, running on a fully elevated alignment serving 16 stations. Siemens Mobility and Siemens India are supplying communications-based train control to support unattended operation at GoA4.
- Subscribers can read a feature article about the fast-pace expansion of Indian cities’ metro networks in the February 2024 issue of Railway Gazette International.
