BENGALURU: After receiving a great response for their first six-coach train in June, the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is now going all out to ensure that they start operations with the second six-coach train within this month. It is likely to hit the tracks by September-end or October first week. Meanwhile, the three-coach set, which will be integrated with an existing train, was delivered in the first week of September by BEML limited.
BMRCL is currently in the process of upgrading all its trains to the six-coach configuration.The move comes even as Namma Metro’s ridership numbers have touched a new high over the past month. On September 11, a new record was created when 4.36 lakh commuters travelled by metro. The introduction of the six-coach trains has also been welcomed by lakhs of commuters who were complaining of jam-packed coaches with hardly any space to breathe.
“Our target is to complete the integration by September. However, an exact date cannot be discussed at the moment since integration is still on. We will have some internal checks to complete before the train hits the tracks for commercial operations,” said Ajay Seth, Managing Director of BMRCL. Seth confirmed that the coaches had been delivered and that their integration was well under way. “We are very close to completing the procedures,” he said.
Purchased from BEML, all existing 50 trains that will be converted into six-coach configuration, and the process is expected to be completed by the end of next year. However, BEML, which delivered the first set of three coaches in record time, has said that it is confident of pushing the delivery schedule and finishing it by June next year.