Prototype DTG train for Bengaluru metro’s Purple Line to be delivered by January 2025

China’s CRRC Corporation Ltd was awarded a contract to supply 216 new coaches for the Bengaluru metro’s Phase 2 project (73.95 km) comprising the Purple Line (Line-1), Green Line (Line-2), and Yellow Line (Line-3). CRRC has partnered with TRSL to make trainsets in India to comply with local manufacturing norms.

Of these, 126 coaches (21 six-coach trains) are for the Purple and Green Lines and 90 coaches (15 six-coach trains) are for the Yellow Line (RV Road—Bommasandra). The remaining 20 six-coach DTG trains will be manufactured by TRSL at its Uttarpara facility in West Bengal. According to BMRCL officials, the first DTG train from TRSL is expected by Q4 of 2025 and the Purple and Green Lines will receive all 21 DTG trains by Q1 of 2027.

Meanwhile, with TRSL scheduled to deliver its first train on January 15, 2025, for the Yellow Line and the second train in February, BMRCL has planned to commence operations with three trains at a frequency of every 30 minutes. The first prototype train from CRRC reached Bengaluru on February 14. While the prototypes for both CBTC and DTG trains were made in China, the remaining 34 trainsets (14 CBTC and 20 DTG) are being built in India. The operations for Yellow Line were expected to start by 2021, but challenges like Covid-19, procurement delays, FDI norms, and trade restrictions with China, delayed the production and delivery of the trainsets.