The first Metro train for Chennai might have been manufactured in Sao Paulo in Brazil, but it still had to go through the fanfare of Indian superstitions and crush lemons.
The four coaches of the train, which were transported from Chennai port to Koyambedu depot early on Thursday through four special modular hydraulic axles, were unloaded and laid on the delivery track at the depot on Monday.
“After we complete certain post-delivery formalities, the four coaches will be moved to a workshop area inside the depot for further testing. Soon after that, we plan to uncover the coaches,” said an official of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
It took nearly four hours to unload the four coaches from the axles.
“A 125 metric tonne crane lifted up each coach. We ensured that there was no damage caused to the coaches during the process,” said another official.
The uncovering of the train may be done only after two weeks as the track on which the train will be tested is yet to be completed, he added.
Soon after that, the train will be inspected and put through various tests to prepare it for the test run scheduled to take place in December on the 11-km-long Koyambedu- St. Thomas Mount Stretch.
According to sources, the second train is expected to arrive in the city by August.
Of the 42 trains for Chennai Metro Rail, nine will be manufactured in Sao Paulo and 33 will be manufactured in Sri City plant in Andhra Pradesh.
