CHENNAI: French firm Alstom, which provides mobility solutions, has started manufacturing metro train-sets for Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line), Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRC), at its facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, said Alain Spohr, managing director, Alstom India and South Asia.
Spohr further said the first metro train-sets after testing will be delivered to Mumbai Metro by November 2020.
For MMRC, Alstom will manufacture 31 lightweight fully-furnished modern metro trains of eight cars each for the 33.5 km stretch, which will connect 27 stations in Mumbai. The company has plans to complete the entire project by 2022.
“This will be the new face of transportation for the commercial capital of India. Themed on Dynamic Fluidism that takes inspiration from the city, the train prioritises high interior density layout to maximize space efficiency. The train-sets will be able to carry at least 3,000 people in a single trip,” said Spohr.
The Aqua Line train-sets will feature a host of safety elements including CCTV cameras, smoke detectors, emergency intercoms, fire extinguishers with wider detrainment doors to quickly evacuate passengers in case of an emergency.
The inclusive design of train-sets will serve to the differently-abled individuals with ease of travel and includes dedicated space for wheelchair in every car. It also plans to double the manufacturing capacity at Sri City unit from existing 240 train-sets per annum to 480 train-sets per annum. The factory is currently executing orders for Chennai Metro, Montreal Metro and Mumbai Metro. He said Alstom recently won a contract with Sydney’s NRT to supply the rolling stock.
Alstom’s other plans
Alstom recently won a contract with Sydney’s NRT to supply the rolling stock and signalling system for the next stage of Sydney Metro. At least 23 six-car fully-automated Metropolis trains will be manufactured at the Sri City facility for the project