The first set of trains for Chennai Metro’s Phase I extension project, from Washermenpet to Thiruvittiyur/Wimco nagar in North Chennai, was flagged off on Saturday at the factory of Alstom Transport India Limited in Sri City, Tada, Andhra Pradesh.
Phase - I of the Chennai Metro Rail Project, which covers a distance of 45 km has been fully operational from February 2019.
The Phase-I extension project, of 9.051 km, is being implemented at an estimated completion cost of ₹3,770 crore, said a press release from Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL).
The construction work, which was inaugurated by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalalithaa on July 23, 2016, is underway. It is expected to be completed in June 2020.
CMRL awarded the contract, in March 2018, to the consortium of Alstom Transport (France) and Alstom Transport India Limited for the supply of ten train sets with the same configuration and specifications as supplied to Phase-I project.
The train sets are being manufactured at Alstom’s factory in Sri City. The cost of supply is about ₹200 crores.
The manufacturing of the train sets commenced in February 2019. The trains have undergone various tests and inspections such as carbody dimensional checks, watertightness check, static routine traction and brake tests, etc..
The first train set is now ready for dispatch from the Alstom factory to CMRL Depot at Koyambedu. It was flagged-off by Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Managing Director, CMRL, along with Godin Bruno, Managing Director for rolling stocks and components at the Alstom facility on Saturday.
On the arrival of the train sets, further tests such as slow speed and high speed Routine tests at the Depot and mainline will be performed before deploying it to the passenger service.
A press release said that the remaining nine train sets are under various stages of manufacturing and are expected to be delivered by the end of February, 2020, the release said.