Hyderabad: New coaches are set to arrive on the Hyderabad Metro Rail network in the coming months, as the state government moves to award a manufacturing contract to an Indian company under the “Make in India” push.
According to ABN, officials at Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) have begun the process on the directions of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who wants a company finalised and coaches rolled out at the earliest.
The first phase of Hyderabad Metro opened in November 2017. Trains currently run on three corridors, LB Nagar-Miyapur, JBS-MGBS and Nagole-Raidurg, covering 69.2 km. Around 4.6 lakh commuters travel across 1,200 trips a day on the network, and ridership has been rising steadily.
To meet the demand, the state government has decided to procure 60 new coaches. At present, 57 trains run with three coaches each; one additional coach will be added to each rake. Each coach is estimated to cost around Rs 20 crore, putting the total outlay at roughly Rs 1,200 crore, which the state government is expected to fund separately.
Order likely to go to BEML
Several companies manufacture metro coaches in India, including Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) in Bengaluru, Alstom, Titagarh Rail Systems in Kolkata, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Perambur, Chennai, and the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.
According to officials, the government has directed HMRL to place the coach order with BEML, which has prior experience supplying metro rolling stock to Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is likely to be roped in as a consultant for the procurement.
BEML and DMRC signed a memorandum of understanding in April this year to jointly pursue metro rail projects in India and abroad, and DMRC has separately been engaged as technical consultant to Telangana’s government during the state’s takeover of Hyderabad Metro Phase 1 from L&T.
Hyundai Rotem, the South Korean company that built Hyderabad Metro’s existing coaches, is reported to have agreed to share its technology with BEML for the new order. Existing Hyderabad Metro trains run on Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) technology, allowing largely automated operation, with loco pilots mainly monitoring signalling and passenger movement.
The new coaches are expected to be built to the same specifications so they can be integrated into the existing system, and HMRL officials are in discussions with BEML on the technical modalities.
Delivery timeline uncertain
While officials have said they are aiming to make the coaches available within 8 to 10 months, the procurement itself has faced delays tied to the broader transfer of Phase 1 from L&T Metro to the state government.
Earlier reports had indicated the coach induction timeline could stretch closer to two years once the valuation and handover process, currently being overseen by SBI Caps, is factored in, with BEML separately citing a manufacturing and delivery period of about 15 months once an order is placed.
