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The much-awaited six coaches of the driverless train for Namma Metro’s Yellow Line, which are on the way from Chennai, will reach Bengaluru in a day or two.
The coaches, previously shipped from Shanghai, China, to Chennai port, are now being transported to Bengaluru’s Hebbagodi metro depot using four trailer vehicles. Officials from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said, “The coaches will exclusively travel during nighttime, with the trailer vehicles remaining stationary during the day.”
The prototype of the initial six-coach train for the 19-km Yellow Line was dispatched on January 24 from the Shanghai port in China. On January 31, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Company Ltd., the Chinese company that got the contract to deliver coaches to the BMRCL, shared a video showcasing the transportation of the coaches by sea.
The R.V. Road – Bommasandra elevated line is expected to become operational within the next six months. BMRCL officials attributed the primary reason for the delay in starting operations on the line to the delay in the delivery of the coaches by the Chinese company.
A BMRCL official said in the coming days, the driverless coaches will undergo static tests within the depot, and there may also be tests conducted on tracks inside the depot. Following a series of depot-level tests, the coaches will proceed to main testing. The official explained that this entire procedure would take a few months.
In 2019, a Chinese company secured a ₹1,578 crore contract to supply 216 metro coaches to BMRCL. However, they were unable to fulfil the order due to the absence of a required manufacturing plant in India.
To address this, the Chinese company formed a partnership with Titagarh Rail, based in Kolkata (West Bengal), for the production and supply of coaches. These coaches are currently being manufactured at Titagarh Rail’s wagon manufacturing facility in Uttarpara near Kolkata.
The remaining coaches are slated to be produced by Titagarh Rail Systems in India. Officials have said Titagarh Rail will deliver all the coaches to BMRCL in phases, with the entire delivery expected to be completed by March 2025.
