Chennai Metro Rail will start commercial operations by July or August next year. Chennai Metro started testing the first set of trains manufactured by Alstom in Brazil today. This will go on for the next six to eight weeks.
The test run was flagged off by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa at the metro rail depot in Koyambedu.
The next stage of testing will be at the elevated section between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount. This will be for three-four months, but this depends on how quickly the ramp at Koyambedu and the final leg of work near Alandur station is completed.
“We hope to see the Chennai Metro operational by July or August,” said a senior official of Chennai Metro Rail Ltd on condition of anonymity.
Chennai Metro Rail is an equal joint venture between the Centre and State governments which is implementing the Rs 14,600 crore rail-based transport project.
Funding
Japan International Cooperation Agency has provided the project Rs 8,646 crore funding. The project, which is expected to ease road congestion in the city, will have two stretches totalling 45 km linking important locations in the city including North Chennai, Central Railway Station, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal at Koyambedu to the airport in the southern suburb of Chennai.
The first set of the four car train will be tested on an 800-m test track at the depot. The tests will be on rolling stock and related equipment such as brakes and communication systems.
K. Rajaraman, Managing Director, Chennai Metro Rail , said the pace of the project was picking up. The State Government has provided Rs 2,190 crore to the project as share capital and an additional Rs 844 crore as ‘subordinate debt’ against land provided for the project.
To begin with the metro service will be run with four cars and depending up on the response two more cars can be attached. Each train can carry 1,276 passengers of which 176 will be sitting and 1,110 standees. The fully air-conditioned train can reach a maximum speed of 80 kmph but the average speed to be run will be 34 kmph, a senior official of CMRL said.
There is no major difference between coaches to be operated in Chennai and those running in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, he said.
Meanwhile, the next set of coaches is expected to arrive in Chennai from Brazil by the month-end.
In total, 42 train sets (each with four cars) will be operated by the Chennai Metro. Of this, nine will be manufactured in Brazil, and 33 at Alstom’s facility in Sri City, Tada, Andhra Pradesh.