Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George on Tuesday told the Assembly that Namma Metro trains would get three additional coaches by December this year with one coach reserved for women. He made the statement during question hour while replying to Congress member Shadakshari.
However, this may well be an unlikely possibility if the statement of the coach manufacturer, BEML, is anything to go by.
BEML had in March, while announcing that the company had bagged the order, claimed that supply of additional coaches would begin by June 2018 and would be completed by December 2019.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) operates 50 trains with three coaches each on the Purple and Green Lines. Additional 150 coaches are needed to augment the three-coach trains to six coaches. This could help meet the demand for a women-only coach in each train.
BMRCL expects the number of commuters to go up from 2 lakhs per day at present to 5 lakhs within one year of the completion of Phase I.
An informal agreement
According to sources in BMRCL, BEML would supply only six coaches by December. Three will be attached to one train on the Purple Line and the other three on one train in the Green Line. BMRCL will monitor the number of commuters. More coaches would be added to other trains only when they are delivered by BEML.
Connecting to Tumakuru?
The government is considering asking the Railways to link Tumakuru with the Green Line through a MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit), Mr. George said.
