BENGALURU: German firms which supply crucial components for the City's six-coach Metro trains have been asked to expedite their orders. This is to ensure the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation meets its June 2019 deadline for completion of the remaining 49 three-car coaches into six-car ones.
BMRCL MD Mahendra Jain and Director of Rolling Stock and Electrical, R M Dhoke have returned to the city after a week-long trip to German firms supplying parts for its coaches.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Jain said the trip was aimed at ensuring BMRCL meets the deadline it has set for itself. "BMRCL wanted the German companies to expedite supply of vital components such as brake systems and gangways so that six-car train conversion can happen," he said.
Gangway refers to the portion that ensures connectivity between coaches of a train. M V Rajasekhar, Head of Rail Business at BEML, which is assembling the six-coach set for BMRCL said, "Gangway is the sturdy portion which also has a rubber component and is commonly referred to as vestibule in regular trains. It must be of the highest standards and need to be fire-resistant."
The firm Dellner will deliver 49 gangway sets while Knorr Bremse will deliver 49 sets of braking systems to BEML to ready the extended trains, he said. Though Knorr has set up a unit at Faridabad, there is a vital electrical unit, which the German firm specialises in. The second six-coach train is slated for delivery by August.