Chennai-headquartered Johnson Lifts, a leading manufacturer of lifts and escalators, has signed a major lease contract for lifts and escalators with the Delhi Metro Railways Corporation (DMRC) on a public-private partnership basis.

This is the first time DMRC has awarded such a contract for the lease and maintenance of lifts and escalators. The contract has been signed for three priority corridors in the phase-IV expansion of the Delhi metro.

The contract was signed by John K John, Chairman & Managing Director, Johnson Lifts and Om Hari Pande, Director (Electrical), DMRC on Wednesday.

“We will initially bear the entire cost for design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the lifts and escalators, and will maintain them for a period of 15 years. DMRC will release monthly payments of the lease and maintenance charges once these lifts and escalators become operational. This is a proud moment for us,” John said in a statement.

To be made in TN

This contract involves the procurement of 179 lifts and 323 escalators which are to be commissioned across these corridors which cover a total distance of 65 Km and comprise 45 metro stations. These lifts and escalators will be manufactured in Johnson Lifts’ state-of-the-art manufacturing units in Chennai, Tamil Nadu at Sengandu and Oragadam, respectively.

For heavy duty applications, metro agencies used to import escalators. But in a boost to ‘Make in India’ initiative, Johnson Lifts will now indigenously design and manufacture 65 per cent of the escalators for the first time in Chennai.

The lifts will have a carrying capacity of around 20 people at a time compared to earlier models having 8-13 passengers capacity. “CCTV cameras will also be installed inside the lifts for the first time in the Phase-IV expansion, for enhanced safety,” it said.

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