KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): Bengaluru-based PSU Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) and Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) have signed a new agreement to buy additional rakes from each other, with Sealdah having opened and the full East-West Metro corridor anticipated to be operational by mid-2023.
Before the East-West Metro project took off, the two agencies agreed to their first agreement, which is called for 14 rakes. The new agreement calls for three rakes at first. Between October and December 2023, BEML must deliver them, bringing the East-West Metro fleet’s total to 17. This train’s manufacturing will begin in the upcoming month.
For trains to run at two-minute intervals, the East-West Metro is outfitted with the advanced automatic train control (ATC) system, communication-based train control (CBTC), and signaling system. The rakes made by BEML also have ATC and CBTC software installed. Two driving automobiles will be at each end of the six-car rakes. In order to save energy, the trains contain LED lights, CCTV cameras, and other high-tech features. The rakes have an 80 kmph top speed and can carry up to 2,068 passengers.
In April 2018, the first of the 14 trains—84 standard-gauge Metro cars—that BEML had agreed to provide to KMRC for Rs 900 crore arrived in the city. In July 2020, the last BEML rake was delivered.
