Plan to operate 138 driverless trains after completion of Chennai Metro Rail – Phase-II project!
Posted on: 08/Oct/2022 12:47:06 PM
It has been planned by the Chennai Metro Rail to operate 138 driverless trains with 3 coaches after comp-lotion of the Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project!
Further, the Chennai Metro Rail Officials informed that the contract for the manufacture of the Metro trains would operate in the Chennai Lighthouse-Poonamallee corridor.
The Chennai Metro Rail; System was conceived and has been partly executed to solve the great problem of acute traffic congestion in the Chennai Metro City!
In the 1st Phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Project, 2 corridors, Chennai Airport-Wimconagar and St. Thomas Mount – Chennai Central Railway Station cover a distance of 55 km with 52 trains being operated.
In this situation, the 2nd Phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Project, covering a distance of 118 km in 3 corridors for 63246 Crores, has been in progress.
The 3rd corridor, between Madhavaram and Siruseri (SIPCOT), covers a distance of 45.8 km. The 4th Corridor, covering a distance of 26.1 km is between Lighthouse and Poonamallee. The 5th Corridor, covering a distance of 47 km is between Madhavaram and Sholinganallur. The work is in full swing in all the 3 corridors. The Metro Rail Administration has planned to complete the entire project before the end of the year 2025.
Contract for 26 trains:
Once the 2nd Phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Project is completed, it is planned to operate 138 Driverless Metro Trains in these 3 corridors.
The officials of the Chennai Metro Rail shared in this regard:
"We have planned to operate 138 driverless trains in these 3 corridors once the 2nd Phase of the project gets completed. In the 3rd Corridor of Madhavaram-Siruseri (SIPCOT) and the 5th Corridor between Madhavaram-Koyambedu, 70 Metro trains will be operated.
In the 4th corridor between Lighthouse and Poonamallee, 26 Metro trains will be operated. On the 5th corridor between Koyambedu-ElLCOT (The Metro Station just before Sholinganallur)-Sholinganallur, 42 Metro trains will be operated.
Thus a total of 138 Metro trains are set to be operated. Each train will have 3 coaches!
For the 1st Phase of this project, the contract for the manufacture of 26 Metro Trains with 3 coaches each has been awarded to Alsthom Transport India.
The manufactured trains will be handed over in the year 2024. The contract for the manufacture of Metro trains for other corridors w will be awarded gradually in successive phases.
Once the project is completed in all these 3 corridors, Metro Train will be available to operate at a distance of 173 km. It will carry a total of 25 Lakhs passengers daily! This, in total, will cater for 25% of the total transport arrangements in Chennai Metro City!"
In this regard, the former Director of the Chennai Metro Rail Company and the current Planning Consultant of the Nagpur Metro Rail Project, R. Ramanathan, shared:
"Driverless trains are being operated in the Delhi Metro under the Delhi Metro Rail Company. Similarly, driverless trains are to be operated in Chennai Metro as well. All Metro Rail trains are designed to operate driverless! As such, driverless trains can be operated without any apprehensions!!"
