Three Metro train cars arrive in Indore, trial run in September

These trains, which are being claimed as ultramodern and light-weight, will run at the highest speed of 80 km/h, along the 31 km line in Bhopal with 30 stations, and the 31.5 km line in Indore with 29 stations.

Three cars of Indore Metro arrived at Indore on August 31, and the first trial run will be conducted in September, according to officials.

The trainset, which took nearly 15 months to be built from its Notice To Proceed (NTP), will be deployed to Indore, and is scheduled to kick off operations from April 2024. On August 26, the mock-up car was launched at Smart City Park, Bhopal by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the presence of MPMRCL, the General Consultant and Alstom.

"Congratulations Indore. One more feat has been achieved to chug off the metro train dream. The first rolling stock has arrived at Gandhi Nagar depot. The trial run of the Metro train is proposed in September," Chouhan said on microblogging site X.

The second trainset, likely to be to be delivered by September 20, will be deployed to Bhopal. These trains, which are being claimed as ultramodern and light-weight, will run at the highest speed of 80 km/h, along the 31 km line in Bhopal with 30 stations, and the 31.5 km line in Indore with 29 stations. Notably, 27 of the three car configuration trainsets, will be for Bhopal, while 25 trainsets will be for Indore. These trains have a seating capacity of 50 passengers and a standing capacity of 300.

Oliver Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India, commenting on the advance delivery, called it a proud moment.

"These trains will ensure safe, reliable, efficient, and affordable mass transport system, while also promoting economic activity. Alstom is India's long-standing partner in the journey towards sustainable mobility and we are looking forward to further strengthen this partnership by redefining the mass transportation needs of Madhya Pradesh," said Loison.

The Metro is estimated to cost Rs 7,500 crore. The Metro cars arrived by road from Savli near Vadodara, said an official of the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (MPMRC). "Trial runs will be carried out along a 5.9-kilometer route with five stations," officials said.

The Bhopal-Indore Metro trainsets are being fully-indigenously manufactured, under the Centre's Make in India campaign, at Alstom's state-of-the-art rolling stock manufacturing facility at Gujarat's Savli.

The total length of the Metro route is 31.5 km. The foundation stone of the project was laid in September 2019. 

(With inputs from PTI)