The consortium of Alstom Transport SA and Alstom India Ltd has bagged the Rs 1,471.3 crore contract to design, manufacture, supply, test and commission coaches for Chennai Metro Rail.Alstom Transport has already sold over 3,000 cars for metro trains worldwide, including to cities like Singapore, Shanghai, Paris and Santiago.

The four-car trains will have automatic sliding doors, an onboard electronic route map that will show the location of the train, a public address system and emergency intercoms for passengers.Alstom will make 42 sets of four-car trains—a total of 168 coaches— for Chennai Metro Rail and will also supply spares and maintenance tools.

The four-car trains will have a capacity to carry 1,276 commuters, including seating and standing.The state-of-the-art lightweight stainless steel coaches will have air-conditioning, three phase AC drive and regenerative braking system.The coaches will have Automatic Train Protection and Automatic Train Operation systems.

The metro car will also be disabled-friendly, as each rake will have two wheel-chair parking space. The cars will also be equipped with gangways to facilitate easy movement of passengers from one coach to another. The trains will operate on 25 KV through an overhead catenary system, said Chennai Metro Rail general manager, public relations, S Krishnamoorthy.

The company will also train personnel on operation and maintenance of the trains. Each four-car rake will be provided with a first-class seating section in the coach closest to the operator’s cab.The coaches will be manufactured in such a way that they can be converted into six-car rakes when commuter traffic goes up, Krishnamoorthy added.

Metro Rail is planning to operate one train every three minutes to meet peak-hour commuter traffic. The maximum speed of the rake will be 80 kmph though the cars will have the capacity of running up to 90 kmph.Metro Rail has already awarded contracts for construction of elevated viaduct from Koyambedu to St Thomas Mount and from Saidapet to Officers Training Academy and also for construction of elevated stations along this line. The metro line will have two corridors — Washermenpet to airport via Anna Salai and Central to St Thomas Mount via Koyambedu.

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