BENGALURU: After multiple missed deadlines for operations on the RV Road-Bommasandra Line via Electronics City, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has officially declared that operations will commence by January 2025, with three trains and a trip every 30 minutes.
The huge delay in readying the coaches dispatched from China by Kolkata-based Titagarh Rail Systems Limited for the second driverless train set, has now put a big question mark over the proposed launch, said multiple sources. Pushing the launch to March or April to ensure a couple of more train sets arrive, is being contemplated.
A reliable source told TNIE, “While the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRCC) factory completely readied the prototype train set with multiple components fitted into every coach which reached Bengaluru via Chennai on Feburary 14 this year, in the case of the second train set, only the shell of the coaches had been sent to its Kolkata partner via Mumbai port".
"It needs to source all the components, fit them and test them before sending them to Hebbagodi in Bengaluru, where they will be coupled. We were told we would receive it in August. Titagarh kept postponing the delivery date every month and the latest deadline given is the first week of December.”
He added, “Any delay in delivery will force us to postpone the proposed launch. Testing of the new train needs to be done for a week. After that, multiple testing needs to be carried out with the simultaneous running of two trains. This would take two weeks. We have only one train with us so this cannot be done.” The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety inspection and approval too needs to be obtained.
The other issue is that with just two trains, the stretch of 19.15km with 16 stations can be covered by a train only every 40 minutes, as the operational speed is only 32-34 km. “Running a trip every 40 minutes will invite enormous criticism and it could get overcrowded too,” another source explained.
Titagarh might be able to supply two more trains by March, and with four trains, BMRCL can operate a trip every 20 minutes, he added.
Another source said, “A train needs to be run every 30 minutes at least. We want to kickstart the Bommasandra operations. If we get the second train set from Titagarh next month, we could even operate the train by bypassing some stations and stopping at only certain stations.
Asked about the situation, BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao told TNIE, “We have asked Titagarh and CRRC to speed up everything. Metro officials are camping at the factory to ensure faster delivery. We have asked for delivery of coaches at the earliest.”
BMRCL’s Rs 1,578-crore contract with CRRC in 2019 is for the supply of 216 coaches. The remaining 204 coaches will be produced only at Titagarh.