Chennai's first Metro Rail rake imported from Brazil started rolling towards the yard in the wee hours of Thursday amid heavy security and traffic diversion.
The four Chennai Metro Rail rakes, which reached Chennai shores on Friday last, were transported to the yard by modular hydraulic axles under the watchful eyes of the city police and officials of the Metro Rail. The gigantic machinery began rolling around 11.30 pm on Wednesday.
Namakkal Transport Carriers (NTC) general manager Suresh Ramaswamy said the hydraulic axles carrying the rakes travelled at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour and the 15-km stretch from Chennai Port to the yard in Koyambedu took close to two hours to cover.
Ramaswamy said the four NTC modular axles had escorts, the roads were sealed and traffic was diverted during the period as the imported rakes embarked on the journey to their new home.
The unwrapping and coupling of the rakes is likely to take place on Friday or Saturday, said Ramaswamy, whose firm has a three-year contract with CMRL to transport the equipment to the `198-crore depot.
He said this would be a big day for Chennai as the City gets its first Metro Rail. He said all the port clearances to transport the four rakes to the Koyambedu yard was received. The next instalment of two trains is likely to be shipped from Brazil by July and all the nine trains imported from Brazil are expected to reach Chennai by the end of the year. Meanwhile, a Metro Rail spokesperson told Express that the 800-metre test track is on the verge of completion.
