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L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd, a subsidiary of L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd, has zeroed in on French transport group Keolis SA as O&M contractor for operating and maintaining the upcoming Hyderabad Metro Rail System.
The company opted for the French firm to adopt the best international practices in metro operations, achieve high standards of reliability, availability and safety in the rail system and carry out routine, preventive and corrective maintenance.
Keolis SA is a subsidiary of the SNCF Group, a leading public transport operator in Europe, Australia, North America and other parts of the world with an annual turnover of euro 4.1 billion.
It operates passenger railways, tramways, bus networks, funiculars, trolley buses and airport services. It is also a pioneer in the operation of driverless metro.
L&T has decided to involve Keolis during the formative stage of the Hyderabad project in order to take advantage of its expertise in metro rail operations and maintenance. “Their (Keolis') involvement will give us sufficient time to review the detailed design, recruit and train manpower. It will also be associated with the testing, commissioning and trial runs of the Hyderabad metro project,” a company official said.
The project involves a financial outlay of about Rs 16,375 crore, including Rs 6,000 crore for civil construction, Rs 2,000 crore for development of about six million sft of real estate, Rs 1600 crore on rolling stock and Rs 1,000 crore for signalling.
One of the biggest urban infrastructure projects in public-private partnership in India, the elevated metro rail will cover about 72 kms with three corridors comprising 66 stations. It is expected to be completed in a phased manner in the next four to five years.
Canada's Bombardier Transportation, China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation, Spain's Construcciones Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles and BEML Ltd are in the race for supplying rolling stocks for the project.
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