Chennai Metro: CMRL floats tender to procure 70 driverless trains

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has issued tenders for the design, manufacture, testing, and commissioning of 210 cars of standard gauge metro rolling stock for operation in three corridors—Madhavaram to Sipcot, Madhavaram to Sholinganallur and Lighthouse to Poonamallee. Unattended train operation (UTO) or driverless operation, according to CMRL, will be the predominant mode of train operation when the Metro begins operation in phase II. If the UTO is not available for any reason, the train operator will be on board to operate the train in manual mode. The official told the media that they plan to operate three coach trains at first, with the number of coaches increasing to six if demand grows. A three-car rake can transport 980 passengers, while a six-car rake can transport 1,970. Phase II trains would not have first-class coaches, unlike phase I trains. The vehicles' maximum allowable operating speed is 80 km per hour, with a design speed of 90 km per hour. According to media reports, the trains could travel an average of 1,50,000 km per year at a minimum average operating speed of 32 kmph during the project's entire fleet operation conditions. The rakes should have ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as front and rear end evacuation emergency detrainment doors, according to the tender document. For security and emergency doorway monitoring, the vehicles would also have onboard and external CCTV cameras. The Tamil Nadu government established a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to carry out the Chennai Metro Rail Project. The Chennai Metro Rail Limited SPV was formed under the Companies Act on 3 December 2007. It has now been converted into a joint venture between the centre and Tamil Nadu, with both governments owning equal stakes. Image Source Also read: CMRL gets approval for beautification work of central railway station Also read: HCC-KEC JV secures Rs 1,147 cr order for Chennai metro project