Bengaluru: BMRCL Floats Tender To Procure 318 Driverless Coaches For Phase 2, 2A And 2B Of Namma Metro Project

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has floated a tender for procuring 318 metro cars for three under construction lines- the 21.386 km pink line of Bangalore Metro Phase 2, 18.23 km Phase 2A and 37 km Phase 2B projects.

According to the tender document, the successful bidder will responsible for the design, develop, manufacture, supply, test, deliver, commission and integration testing of " light weight fully furnished modern passenger cars (318 nos.) with microprocessor control 3-phase induction motor drive and suitable for unattended train operation."

While 96 coaches will be deployed to operate the pink line connecting Gottigere-Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara (which includes an underground stretch for 14 km from Dairy Circle and Nagawara), another 96 coaches will be used to operate 18.23 km Phase 2A that will connect Central Silk Board and K.R. Puram.

The remaining 126 coaches will be used for the 37 km Phase 2B that will connect Kempegowda International Airport and K.R. Puram via Nagawara and Hebbal.

A loan extended by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will fund the procurement of 318 metro cars.

In March 2021, JICA signed a loan agreement with the Government of India to provide a loan amounting to Rs 3,717 Crores to support Phases 2, 2A and 2B of the Namma Metro project in Bengaluru.

The Hindu quoted BMRCL officials as saying that they have the required number of rolling stock to commission train operations on the extended metro line from Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield. The extension is expected to commence full-scale commercial operations early next year.

Rolling Stock For Yellow Line

In April this year, BMRCL floated a tender to supply 72 coaches as a contingency measure after the original contract awarded to a Chinese firm ran into rough weather.

The 72 coaches (12 trains, each comprising six cars) will be deployed on the 19.5-km R.V Road-Bommasandra Line (Yellow Line). The line is in the advanced stage of construction.

In December 2019, the BMRCL awarded a contract for supplying 126 metro coaches to Chinese firm CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CRRC Corporation Ltd. The Chinese firm won the Rs 1,578 crore contract that included the supply of 126 cars with distance-to-go (DTG) technology and 90 cars with communication-based train control (CBTC) technology.

BMRC plans to operate driverless trains on the Yellow Line with CBTC signaling system.

As per the terms of the contract, the supplier had to commit to either setting up a new factory in India to produce the cars or strike a partnership with a domestic manufacturer to ensure timely delivery. CRCC unveiled plans to manufacture 204 coaches in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. But the plans did not materialise. 

With the earlier contract still embroiled in a protracted legal battle, BMRCL floated a new coach supply tender this April to procure the supply of 72 metro coaches. The successful bidder was given four and half years to supply the coaches.

In July this year, BMRCL announced that it had accepted CRRC’s request to manufacture a total of 216 metro train coaches in partnership with Titagarh Wagons in Kolkata.