New Delhi:
Titagarh Rail Systems has announced that the initial shipment of metro trains for Bengaluru’s Electronics City is scheduled to depart from China on October 18.
The first two metro trains, manufactured by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), are expected to reach Bengaluru within a month, according to Prithivish Chaudhary, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Titagarh Rail Systems.
The civil work for Bengaluru Metro’s Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra) is nearing completion.
Progress on Metro Train Production
In addition to the two metro trains, two car bodies for the trains manufactured by CRRC are currently en route from China to Titagarh’s production facility in Uttarpara, near Kolkata.
These car bodies are expected to arrive within the next two weeks. Once they arrive, work will commence, with the goal of supplying the trains to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) by February 2024.
Titagarh intends to deliver two trains (comprising 12 cars) each month to fulfill the order within the March 2025 deadline.
Addressing Production Delays
Chaudhary noted that the production delay primarily stemmed from the process of finalizing prototype specifications. Many of these delays are expected to be resolved once the prototype is approved.
There was a minor setback as the prototype was not approved by the initial deadline in December 2023 due to logistical challenges in coordinating between Indian and Chinese engineers, including difficulties obtaining Indian visas.
Additionally, pricing negotiations also took some time.
The newly introduced trains will operate on the Yellow Line, running between RV Road and Bommasandra.
While the first two sets of six-coach trains (12 coaches) will be imported from China, the remaining 204 coaches will be manufactured in India by Titagarh Railways.
