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Pune metro to sport light-weight, energy-saving coaches
PUNE Pune Metro is to get light-weight and energy-saving coaches with advanced features, according to officials on Sunday, who added that the Kolkata-based Titagarh Firema Company will conduct its first trial run on the factory premises in May
PUNE Pune Metro is to get light-weight and energy-saving coaches with advanced features, according to officials on Sunday, who added that the Kolkata-based Titagarh Firema Company will conduct its first trial run on the factory premises in May.
Maharashtra Metro rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) officials visited the Titagarh unit in Kolkata. According to Maha-Metro Managing director Brijesh Dixit, the coaches will start arriving in Pune after testing and approval from different government agencies.
Earlier last year, Titagarh Firema had won an international bid for supply of 102 ultra-modern aluminium bodied metro rail coaches for the Pune metro.
The coaches, according to officials, are made of aluminium and are therefore lightweight and energy saving.
Titagarh Wagons is an Indian multinational based in Kolkata, West Bengal and Titagarh Firema SPA is the wholly owned Italian subsidiary of Titagarh Wagons Limited.
According to officials, the contract for coaches is for a total 34 train sets, each having three cars. “It will be supplied by the firm in a span of 160 weeks. The total cost of train coaches is around ₹1,100 crore,” said Dixit.
The axle load of coaches is 15.4 tonnes, lower when compared to existing coaches used in other Indian Metro trains.
At present, most of the Indian Metros are using coaches which have a load of 16.4 tonnes.
Due to its 15.4 tonnes of load, Pune Metro will save 2 per cent in energy.
Durgashankar Mishra, secretary, ministry of housing & urban Affairs, and Maha Metro chairman, along with Dixit, and Maha Metro director Sunil Mathur visited the company and inspected the workshop.
Features of coaches
As per Metro officials, aluminium coaches will be able to attain a maximum speed of 95 kmph.
It will have the capacity to accommodate as many as 850 passengers
These coaches will be fully air conditioned with humidity control
Coaches will be equipped with mobile and laptop charging facilities for passengers on board.
Coaches will also be capable of operation in driverless mode.
