It has been mentioned that Chennai Metro Rail administration has 25 metro rail coaches in hand. Recently the 25th metro rail coach manufactured in Sri City, Andhra arrived in Chennai. The coach formation was brought from Andhra by trailer and is now lodged in the Koyambedu depot. Now the 25th indigenously manufactured rail coach has arrived in Chennai. Chennai Metro has decided to operate 42 rail coaches which will have 4 coach formation. The coaches are also manufactured in Alstom at Brazil.
9 rail coach formations will be manufactured in Alstom and the remaining 33 coaches will be manufactures in Sri City, Andhra. All the coaches which were manufactured in Brazil have already been shipped to Chennai. 25 rail coaches indigenously manufactured in Alstom factory branch at Sri City have also arrived Chennai. The coaches are manufactured at a cost of Rs 1471 Crores 39 Lakhs.
Special features of metro rail coach
· All the coaches will be fully air conditioned since the trains will be operated in the elevated path as well as underground.
· The doors will open automatically when the coach arrives in the platform and will close.
· The speed of the metro rail will be between 80 to 90 kmph.
· 1276 people can travel in a formation
· Provision for luggage racks in the coaches and the two classes - ordinary and special
· The first phase of the CMRL project covers all inter-modal points such as Central railway station, Egmore station, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus and the airport.
· There will be a call centre working throughout operating hours to receive and address passenger complaints. The call centre’s number will be displayed prominently in the trains.
· The trains will have dynamic route maps that light up as they move. Through this arrangement, passengers can alight from the trains, especially in the underground section. There will also be closed-circuit television cameras on the rakes for surveillance by train operators.
· There will also be provisions for persons with disabilities. An area has been assigned for two wheel chairs on both ends of each train.
· While alighting, physically-challenged persons can request for longer duration of train stoppage by pressing a long-stop button.