INDIA: The Indian subsidiary of TÜV Nord has begun undertaking in-process inspections of the aluminium-bodied metro trainsets being assembled locally for the Pune metro network.
Titagarh Wagons is supplying 102 vehicles for use on the city’s Aqua and Purple lines. Ordered in August 2019 as 51 two-car sets, the trains are being delivered as 34 three-car units formed of two driving motor cars and a centre trailer. The initial three trains were manufactured by Titagarh Firema in Italy and the rest are being assembled locally. Nine trains have so far been delivered, and the first two locally-built sets have been put into service on the Aqua Line.
The trains are designed for automatic operation to Grade of Automation 2, with a driver onboard to control the doors and initiate departure from each station.
Operator Maharashtra Metro commissioned TÜV India to act as Independent Safety Assessor for the project. The company’s specialists are monitoring the production processes and inspecting the rolling stock and components. According to team leader Prashant Waghmare, this is the first time that the Titagarh factory in India has built aluminium bodied vehicles. The firm is also undertaking safety assessment in line with CENELEC standards.
Construction of Pune Metro’s first two lines began in December 2016 and the first section of each was opened in March 2022 with a limited service of one train every 30 min. Work on a third line began in September 2019 under a separate concession.
