CMRL to procure 70 driverless trainsets for Phase II

CMRL has floated tenders for the design, manufacture, testing and commissioning of standard gauge metro rolling stock numbering 210 cars (70 trainsets of three car rakes) for the operation in the three corridors — Madhavaram to Sipcot (45.8 km), Lighthouse to Poonamallee (26.1 km) and Madhavaram to Shollinganallur (47 km).

Sources in the CMRL said that when the Metro starts operation in phase II, un-attended train operation (UTO) or driverless operation would be the predominant mode of train operation. “If we did not engage the UTO for any reason, the train operator will be onboard to drive the train under manual mode,” sources added.

The official said, initially, they plan to operate three coach trains and it would be increased to six coach trains if the patronage increases. A three-car rake can carry 980 passengers at a time while a six-car rake could carry 1,970. Unlike phase I trains, phase II would not have first-class coaches.

The maximum allowable operating speed of the vehicles would be 80 kmph while its maximum design speed would be 90 kmph. “During the complete fleet operation conditions of this project, the trains may travel an average of 1,50,000 km per year at a minimum average operating speed of 32 kmph, ” sources said.

According to the tender document, the rakes should include ventilation and air conditioning systems, rake’s front and rear end evacuation emergency detrainment doors. The vehicles would also have onboard CCTV cameras and external CCTV cameras for security and emergency doorways monitoring.