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After a delay of almost four years, the Chinese firm that won the contract to provide Metro coaches for Bengaluru is set to finally deliver two Namma Metro trains by August. These coaches by the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation will be integrated into the newly opened KR Puram to Whitefield Metro line in Bengaluru, officials said.
Back in 2019, the Chinese company secured a contract worth Rs 1,578 crore to supply 216 Metro coaches to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). However, the delivery of the trains was stalled due to the company’s failure to establish a manufacturing plant in India. The recent development assures the supply of two sets of six-coach trains by the Chinese firm in August, with the remaining coaches to be delivered in subsequent phases.
In order to overcome the manufacturing hurdle, the Chinese company has now partnered with Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons, which will complete the formalities and finally start supplying the coaches to BMRCL in September. These coaches are designated to operate on the RV Road – Bommasandra line.
Earlier, the BMRCL had issued multiple notices to the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation and even threatened to encash its bank guarantee of Rs 372 crore.
Officials cited two main reasons for the delay in supply. Firstly, the requirement that 75 per cent of the manufacturing should take place in India under the Make-in-India initiative posed challenges for the Chinese company in finding a local manufacturer. Additionally, the manufacturing process was further impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
At present, the BMRCL operates 57 trains with a total of 342 coaches across the Purple and Green lines of Namma Metro.
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