BENGALURU: A good 21 days after six coaches of Bengaluru Metro’s first driverless train were dispatched from Shanghai port, they entered the city in the wee hours of Wednesday. With Customs at Chennai port delaying clearance for crucial equipment required to lift the coaches, entry into Bengaluru was deferred to Thursday. However, clearance came through by 8pm Tuesday, ensuring the journey was advanced.
The coaches (communication based train control) began their trip on MV Spring Mota on January 24 from Shanghai port. They reached Chennai on February 6, and were cleared by Customs at Chennai port on February 10. “The coaches, each weighing 38.7 tonnes, began their journey the same night towards Bengaluru,” said a representative of Unitrans Shipping and Trading Pvt Limited, the shipping firm working for the Chinese company CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co.
The coaches, carried on trailers, could travel only at night as there is restriction on day time movement for heavy vehicles. They stopped over on three nights at Kanchipuram, Vellore and Krishnagiri.
“We will start before midnight on Tuesday and expect to reach Bengaluru in the wee hours of Wednesday,” said Kesav S, operations in-charge of freight forwarder Total Movements Private Limited. “The trailers travel at an average speed of 25-30km an hour,” he added. A senior BMRCL official said the coaches were expected to reach Hebbagodi depot by 3am.
However, the driverless train which has run into numerous issues in the past, including a lengthy delay in issue of visas to engineers from China, encountered one last problem. “The Spreader Beam, which was sent with the coaches, was not given clearance by Customs at Chennai port. The coaches left, and it was awaiting the green signal. It is critical to lift the coaches, and cannot be manufactured locally as it is specifically made for those coaches,” explained a source. The Spreader Beam is a long bar that holds two slings. It is designed to convert lifting loads into pure compressive force, facilitating lifting of large loads.