First driverless train for Bengaluru's Electronics City Metro shipped from China

The 19-km Yellow Line, connecting the tech hub of Electronics City to RV Road in South Bengaluru, is expected to be operational by September 2024.

In a major fillip for Bengaluru's Electronics City Metro, the first driverless train has been shipped from China.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials said that the first six-coach train for the Electronics City Metro (19-km Yellow Line) was shipped on January 24 and is currently on its way to Chennai.

"It is expected to arrive at Chennai port by February 7, 2024. From Chennai, it will then be transported to Bengaluru's Hebbagodi depot by road," a senior BMRCL official told Moneycontrol.

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"A team of BMRCL officials visited China for Factory Acceptance Tests. Chinese customs conducted an inspection before dispatch. Once it reaches Bengaluru, trials will be conducted for nearly three months," he added.

"One more train for the existing Metro corridors with the DTG (distance-to-go) signaling system will also come from China," he added.

Although the first train was scheduled to be shipped in September 2023, it faced delays due to multiple reasons. The Yellow Line (RV Road - Bommasandra) is a crucial Metro corridor in Bengaluru, connecting South Bengaluru and Electronics City, home to companies like Infosys and Biocon.

In December 2019, the Chinese company CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co. Ltd. was awarded the contract to supply 216 coaches, with an expected delivery to BMRCL within 173 weeks. Out of these, 126 coaches (21 six-coach trains) will be deployed on the Purple and Green lines, while the remaining 90 coaches (15 six-coach trains) will for the Yellow Line.

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. Factors like Covid-19, foreign direct investment policies, and trade restrictions with China also resulted in delays.

Subsequently, CRRC partnered with Kolkata-based Titagarh Rail to manufacture and supply the coaches. The coaches are being manufactured at Titagarh Rail's wagon manufacturing facility in Uttarpara near Kolkata.

The remaining 204 coaches will be manufactured by Titagarh Rail Systems in India. According to Titagarh, all 216 coaches for the BMRCL will be delivered by March 2025.

“The body shells of two other trains from China reached Titagarh's manufacturing facility in November 2023. The train building work, involving the fitting of components and electrical installations, will commence this week and is expected to be completed in two to three months,” said a BMRCL official.

This is also the first time BMRCL is deploying CBTC signalling system, commonly known as 'driverless technology,'. Currently, Namma Metro uses the DTG (distance-to-go) signalling system, with a two-and-a-half-minute gap between trains. CBTC could reduce the train headway to less than 90 seconds. Despite the capability to operate driverless trains on the Yellow Line, BMRCL, however, decided to continue deploying loco pilots.

Also, read: Bengaluru Metro's Electronics City and BIEC corridors to open by April 2024: Karnataka CM

Visa issues 

Officials said that the Visa issues for CRRC's technical staff, including loco-pilots, technicians, and engineers, are being resolved.

"So far, four out of the 14 Chinese technical staff have received work Visas to work for BMRCL in Bengaluru. Also, 21 out of the 50 Chinese staff for Titagarh in Kolkata have received visas so far. The remaining ones are expected to get work visas in a phased manner. These technical staff from CRRC need to be in Bengaluru for testing and operating of CBTC trains, and also in Kolkata for manufacturing remaining trains," said an official.

99% civil work over

BMRCL records show that 99% of civil work of the Yellow Line has been completed. However, the delay in the induction of rolling stock has primarily stalled operations.

While the entire Yellow Line was originally scheduled to be operational by 2021, it was subsequently postponed to December 2023 and further to April 2024. However, according to BMRCL sources, it is now expected to be operational only by September 2024.

"CRRC and Titagarh must provide a minimum of 8-10 trains for BMRCL to begin operations on the Yellow Line. Once the train sets are received, testing and trial runs are expected to take considerable time. The Lucknow-based Research, Design, and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of the Union Railway Ministry will be responsible for overseeing tests, including oscillation and emergency braking distance trials. Spare trains should also be available for maintenance purposes, as BMRCL cannot deploy all trains for commercial operations," said an expert.

The Yellow Line has 16 stations: Rashtreeya Vidyalaya Road (RV Road), Ragigudda, Jayadeva Hospital, BTM Layout, Central Silk Board, Bommanahalli (HSR Layout), Hongasandra (Oxford College), Kudlu Gate (Muneshwara Nagar), Singasandra (Chikkabegur), Hosa Road (Basapura Road), Beratena Agrahara (Hosa Road), Electronic City, Infosys Foundation Konappana Agrahara (Electronic City – II), Huskur Road, Hebbagodi, and Bommasandra.

Metro trains on Bengaluru’s two operational lines – Purple (Challaghatta - Whitefield) and Green (Silk Institute - Nagasandra) – are overcrowded due to delays in the delivery of coaches from CRRC. The delay in rolling stock has also stalled the Yellow Line, as well as the Green Line extension (3 km between Nagasandra and Bangalore International Exhibition Centre).

Also, read: Whitefield line boosts Bengaluru Metro's average daily ridership by 80K; cuts traffic congestion by 14%