Alstom bags Rs.1,470 crore contract from Chennai Metro

NEW DELHI - International rail infrastructure major Alstom’s Indian subsidiary Saturday said it has bagged a contract worth about Rs.1,470 crore (243 million euros), to supply 168 rail cars to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited.

“Alstom will supply Chennai Metro’s public operator with 42 train-sets composed of four cars each,” the company said in a statement.

According to the company, first deliveries of the trains are expected by the end of 2012. The company is also equipping the trains with systems like Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO).

“They will be equipped with a regenerative braking system ensuring significant energy savings. The cars will operate on 25 KV AC through an overhead catenary system at speeds of up to 80 km per hour,” the statement said.

Earlier, Alstom had provided train control and signalling systems for the Delhi Metro and is installing these in Bangalore.

The Chennai Metro project was started in 2007. The first phase of the project consists linking north Chennai with the airport situated in the south and Chennai central to St. Thomas Mount.

The 32-station route is over 45 km in lengt,h of which 24 km is underground and 21 km is elevated. The capacity of these lines is said to be more than 500,000 people daily and a frequency between two trains as short as 3 minutes.

Alstom Projects India Ltd (APIL) has been present in the country since 1910 and offers a large range of equipment and services related to power generation and transmission solutions as well as transportation systems.