French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has successfully delivered the first trainset for the Bhopal-Indore metro project to Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Alstom deployed the first trainset, which is expected to be operational by 2024, to the city of Indore. The second trainset is expected to arrive in Bhopal on 20 September 2023.
Manufactured in Alstom’s facility in near Vadodara, Gujarat, in a “record time” of 14.5 months, the newly delivered project is in line with the Indian Government’s ‘Make In India’ initiative. The factory is 500km from Bhopal.
According to Alstom, the “ultramodern” and lightweight trains will travel at a maximum speed of 80km per hour along the 31km Bhopal-Indore route, which features 30 stops.
Oliver Loison, managing director, Alstom India, highlighted how the project is set to modernise the city.
Loison said: “It is a proud moment for us to deliver the first trainset for the Bhopal-Indore metro project in advance. Bhopal and Indore has been recognised as a smart city in India, and the addition of metro will modernise the city infrastructure notably.
“These trains will ensure safe, reliable, efficient and affordable mass transport system, while also promoting economic activity. Alstom is India’s long-standing partner in the journey towards sustainable mobility and we are looking forward to further strengthening this partnership by redefining the mass transportation needs of Madhya Pradesh.”
Following the contract in 2022, with a value of €387m (Rs34.76bn), this order includes the installation of the latest generation of CBTC signalling system, as well as the design and supply of 52 Movia metro trainsets of three-car configuration.
Make in India, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, forms part of a larger series of nation-building activities aimed at transforming India into a worldwide design and manufacturing centre.
The scheme is set to encourage companies to design, manufacture and assemble products created in India.
