To be deployed at Mumbai's Corridor 2-A and 7, the first-ever, Made in India metro rake reached Mumbai on Thursday. The Manufacturing entity of BEML has designed the carriage capacity of this stainless-steel rake to ferry 2,280 passengers in the six-car metro train-set. The rake will kickstart services by May 2021, in all likeliness.
Mumbai Metro to run on the indigenous carrier
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has decided to flag off new metro services along Corridor 2-A and Corridor 7 using these driver-less, indigenously developed carriages. The Bengaluru manufacturing unit has been thus roped-in to deliver 576 such carriages, which are powered by 25 kV AC traction and are equipped by CCTV cameras. These new carriages are modelled to ferry passenger bicycles also, read reports.
Touted to be the biggest place order, India has made a statement of self-reliance by opting for domestic providers, especially amid intense competition among international companies. As per officials, this has also proven to be a rather economical choice for the country. A statement from the Officer of Urban Minister further highlighted that these India-made carriages are an economical resort, costing only ₹8 crores for each coach as opposed to foreign manufacturing's ₹10 crores.
According to the project pipeline, the BEML will be engaged in the delivery of this order until January 2024. Metro Corridor 2-A will map from Dahisar to DN Nagar, while Corridor 7 will map through Dahisar to Andher via the Western Express Highway. These metro lines are the second instalments of the rapid transport system in Mumbai, which received the Ghatkopar-Versova corridor in 2014.
