While civil work on Bengaluru Metro’s Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra) is nearing completion, uncertainty looms over the arrival of rolling stock, keeping residents, officegoers, and others waiting.
“The first two Metro trains from China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) will depart from China on October 18 and are expected to arrive in Bengaluru within a month.” Prithish Chowdhary, director of marketing and business development, Titagarh Rail Systems, told Moneycontrol.
In addition, two car bodies for Metro trains manufactured by CRRC are currently en route from China to Titagarh’s production facility in Uttarpara near Kolkata and will arrive in the next two weeks.
“Once the two car bodies from CRRC reach our production facility, we will commence work on them and supply the trains to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) by February 2024,” Chowdhary said.
Following this, Titagarh plans to deliver two trains (12 cars) per month to complete the order within the timeline of March 2025.
“The delays in production are mainly due to finalising the prototype specifications. Once the prototype is approved, most production delays will be addressed. The earlier deadline of December 2023 experienced a slight delay due to prototypes not being cleared yet,” Chowdhary explained.
Finalisation of the prototype had been delayed as Indian and Chinese engineers had not been able to sit down together and hammer it out due to the latter facing difficulties obtaining Indian visas. Moreover, the two sides also took a while to settle on the final price.
The Yellow Line connects Electronics City, which has officers of companies such as Infosys and Biocon, and RV Road in South Bengaluru.
The first two sets of six-car trains (12 coaches) will be imported from China, while the remaining 204 coaches will be manufactured by Titagarh Rail in India. Moneycontrol had exclusively accessed pictures of the rolling stock prototype from CRRC’s factory.
Chinese engineers facing visa issues
Sources said CRRC engineers from China have been encountering visa issues, which are impeding their travel to Bengaluru to test and commission the trains.
In December 2019, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd. was awarded the contract to supply 216 coaches, with delivery to BMRCL expected within 173 weeks. However, the supply was delayed due to challenges faced by CRRC in identifying a local manufacturer to meet the 75 percent local production requirement under the Make in India initiative, as well as factors such as Covid-19, foreign direct investment policies, and trade restrictions with China. Subsequently, CRRC partnered with Kolkata-based Titagarh Rail to manufacture and supply the coaches.
Sources said BMRCL requires 8-10 trains to commence operations on the Yellow Line. The entire Yellow Line was initially expected to be operational by 2021 but the deadline was revised multiple times. The Yellow Line will benefit residents of areas such as Jayanagar, BTM Layout, and HSR Layout, as well as employees working in Electronics City and Bommasandra Industrial Area.
BJP MP inspects Yellow Line work
Meanwhile, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya inspected the progress of the Yellow Line on October 4. “According to BMRCL, civil work on 15 out of 16 stations is 95% complete, and the remaining 5% will be completed by the end of December 2023,” said Surya.
The MP requested Titagarh to ensure a timely supply of train rakes and assured all support and assistance from the Union government for the completion of this project. “The first two train sets are expected to arrive from China and the remaining ones are being manufactured in Kolkata under the Make In India initiative. I will soon meet Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to expedite the visa issues of Chinese officials and engineers who want to visit Bengaluru for testing and trial runs of these trains," he said.
“There will be three interchange stations on the Yellow Line at Silk Board, RV Road, and Jayadeva stations, enabling commuters to transfer between the Yellow, Pink, Green, and Purple lines. Once commissioned, this line is expected to have a ridership of more than 2.5 lakh passengers and will alleviate traffic congestion in the Electronics City and Silk Board areas, which is crucial for commuters,” said Surya.
“The Jayadeva hospital junction will have five-level vehicular traffic movement and will be an architectural and engineering marvel for Bengaluru,” Surya added.
The MP said inadequate parking at metro stations is a major issue and has instructed officials to explore opportunities to acquire additional land to facilitate parking. He also urged Metro officials to work on a foot overbridge at Bommasandra and Hebbagodi stations to ensure safe pedestrian movement.
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