Phase 1 Chennai Metro Rail extension: Three of ten trains arrive at Koyambedu

The rakes were manufactured by Alstom Transport India in Sri City near Tada in Andhra Pradesh. The phase 1 extension project — which is being implemented at the cost of around Rs 3,770 crore — would connect Washermenpet with Wimco Nagar.

Civil work is under way for nine kilometres between Washermenpet and Wimco Nagar and the CMRL is expecting to begin operation by June next year.

In March 2018, Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) had awarded the contract to manufacture 10 rakes to the consortium of Alstom Transport France and Alstom Transport India Limited for Rs 200 crore. The project is being carried out with financial assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Stating that manufacturing of the rakes began in February 2019, a CMRL release said that the trains have undergone various tests and inspections —such as car body dimensional checks, water tightness check, static routine traction and brake tests — before being approved by CMRL.

The first train set was flagged-off to Chennai by CMRL Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Bansal, along with Godin Bruno, Alstom Managing Director for rolling stock and components, at the Alstom Sri Cityfacility in October.

The CMRL plans to conduct further tests such as slow speed and high-speed routine tests at the Koyambedu depot before deploying them. The remaining seven rakes are in various stages of manufacturing and are expected to be delivered by the end of February 2020.