INDIA: Hitachi Rail is to supply communication-based train control supporting automatic operation at 90 sec minimum headways on Phase II of the 1 435 mm gauge Chennai metro.
The Rs16·2bn contract signed on March 15 covers the design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the signalling, train control and video management system.
The movement of trains at depots and the operation of doors will be overseen by the ATO equipment, which will also feed the passenger information and display systems. Funding for the signalling and train control equipment is coming from Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Phase II of the Chennai network envisages construction of 119 km of metro lines, of which 42 km would be underground. Last November, Alstom was awarded a contract to supply 26 Metropolis trainsets for the future Orange Line, a 26 km route linking Poonamallee Bypass with Light House. The trains are being designed for unattended operation.
‘By integrating our cutting-edge metro rail technology into Chennai Phase II, we can help boost capacity and support smoother, more reliable passenger journeys’, said Noriharu Amiya, Deputy CEO of Hitachi Rail.
