Alstom wins $182m contract for India’s Chennai Metro Phase II expansion

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has awarded Alstom a €135m ($182.5m) contract to design, manufacture, supply, test, and commission 96 Metropolis driverless metro cars for Chennai Metro Phase II in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The project spans approximately 119km, with over 76km elevated and 43km underground, operating across three corridors and their inter-corridor sections.

Under the contract, Alstom will deliver 32 metro trainsets in three-car configurations and provide 15 years of maintenance post-warranty, covering cleaning services, obsolescence management, and maintenance of depot plant and machinery.

The Metropolis trains will be designed at Alstom’s engineering centre in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and manufactured at its facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, aligning with the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Alstom is also currently building 108 driverless Metropolis metro cars for Chennai Metro Phase II, connecting Poonamallee Bypass to Light House across 30 stations, with 18 being elevated and 12 underground.

Since 2010, when Alstom secured its first contract with CMRL, the company has delivered 208 metro cars for Phase I of the Chennai Metro.

In collaboration with Larsen & Toubro, Alstom has also designed and constructed approximately 86 track kilometres across viaducts, tunnels, underground sections, and depots in Corridors I and II.

Each trainset, accommodating around 900 passengers, is designed with “unique” aesthetics, “high safety” standards, and a focus on passenger experience and sustainability, stated Alstom.

The trains support multiple operation modes and include train-to-train and train-to-track evacuation features.

Alstom’s Metropolis metro trains are claimed to be tailored to fit both new and existing infrastructure, offer “flexible” configurations from two to nine cars, have small to large gauge profiles, various voltage systems, and individual interior designs.

The trains can operate manually or driverless, and have features like low noise levels, high recyclability, and optimised energy efficiency to reduce environmental impact, stated the company.

Alstom India managing director Olivier Loison said: “Our journey in India began with Chennai Metro Phase I in 2010, marking our first Rolling Stock order in the country.

“This new contract strengthens our association with CMRL in helping modernise Chennai’s urban rail mobility landscape.”

The company has also supplied metro trains to cities including Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Kochi, Mumbai, Agra-Kanpur, and Indore-Bhopal, with every third metro in India manufactured by Alstom.

Recently, Alstom secured a £50m ($67.5m) contract with FirstGroup and Eversholt Rail to upgrade and maintain five six-car Class 222 trains in preparation for the launch of open access passenger services between Stirling and London under FirstGroup’s Lumo brand.