French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has won a contract worth Rs.798 crore to design, manufacture and commission 78 advanced metro coaches from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the company announced on Friday. These new metro cars will operate on the 26 km corridor, a part of Phase-II, between Poonamallee Bypass and Light House through 28 (18 elevated and 10 underground) stations, it said in a statement.

“Our manufacturing journey in India began with the trains for Chennai Metro Phase-I in 2014, which was also the first Rolling Stock order win for us in the country. This new win brings us immense pride and we are honoured to be reliable partners in improving Chennai's urban transportation network”, said Olivier Loison, Managing Director of Alstom India. Previously, Alstom has manufactured and delivered 208 metro cars for the 54 km of the first phase and extension of Corridor-I from the Airport to Wimco Nagar and Corridor-II from Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount.

The advanced trains delivered by Alstom have been operating on our metro lines for many years now, proving their strong capability to cater to the Indian market. “We are confident that the Phase II project will provide better connectivity with minimal impact on the environment and benefit the lives of millions of people living in the city”, said Rajesh Chaturvedi, Director - Systems & Operations of Chennai Metro Rail Limited.

The contract includes manufacturing 26 metro trains (three-car configuration) that can operate at a top speed

of 80 kmph as well as training personnel. With a 25 KV power supply for optimal energy efficiency, Alstom's Metropolis metros will ensure safe and reliable passenger transport for over 11 million citizens of the city. Additionally, the overall project will significantly contribute towards socio-economic development by connecting key zones. The metro trains are designed and engineered to run driverless enabled with Unattended Train Operations (UTO). These trains can completely run-on signals and their operations will be monitored from the Operations Control Centre (OCC).

With a 25 kv power supply for optimal energy efficiency, alstom's metropolis metros will ensure safe & reliable passenger transport for over 11 million citizens of the city

In line with the government's 'Make-in-India' vision, these metro cars will be 100 per cent indigenous and manufactured at one of Alstom's largest urban rolling stock manufacturing facilities in Sricity, Andhra Pradesh. This facility has an annual capacity of producing 480

cars and a strong portfolio of catering to several domestic and international metro projects. Alstom has successfully delivered metro trains for the cities of Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow and Kochi and is currently manufacturing for Mumbai Metro Line 3, Agra-Kanpur metro, and Indore-Bhopal projects.