The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will soon decide on the specifications of the rolling stock to be procured for the Light Metro proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
The decision will be based on the report of the six-member high-level team led by Principal Adviser, DMRC, E. Sreedharan, that visited Kuala Lumpur and Taipei last week to study the rolling stock used in the urban rail system there.
The specifications will have to be finalised by the DMRC to float the global tenders for procurement of the rolling stock for the Rs.6,728-crore elevated Light Metro.
The DMRC has proposed an 18-metre-long and 2.5-metre-wide rolling stock, with aluminium or stainless steel body for the Light Metro that is awaiting Centre’s nod.
During its visit to Kuala Lumpur and Taipei, the team led by Mr. Sreedharan had a detailed inspection of the rakes used in Kuala Lumpur Metro.
The team visited the Kelana jalan metro line where the sharp curves and the steep gradient is similar to the two cities in Kerala. The rolling stock used there was 17 metre long and 2.6 metre wide.
The team had detailed discussions with the officials of the Bombardier Transportation, the operator of metro since 1998, and Rapid KL on the various aspects of rolling stock, one of the officials in the team told The Hindu here.
In Taipei, the team visited the circular line of MRT that is in advanced stage of completion.
Here also, sources said, the topography was similar to Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode — with sharp curves and steep gradient.
Besides Mr. Sreedharan, S.S. Joshi, Executive Director, Rolling Stock, DMRC; Sumith Bhatnagar, Chief Electrical Engineer, DMRC; and P. Jayakumar, General Manager, Civil, DMRC; were in the team. From the State, P.I. Sheikh Pareeth, Managing Director, Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd (KRTL), the SPV set up by the State to execute the Light Metro, and Anand Elamon, the Project Manager, accompanied.
Six leading rolling stock manufacturing companies had already presented the specifications and their stock on offer for the modern coaches.
French company Alstom that supplies rolling stock for Kochi Metro, Bombardier, Hyundai-Rotem, Kawasaki, Hitachi and the China CNR Corporation Ltd. were the companies that had presented the specifications in March this year.
