Metro trains to get longer, spacious from next month

Delhi Metro trains are soon set to get longer and comfortable with new coaches having started arriving from the plant of Bombardier Transportation at Savli in Gujarat. Subhendu Ray reports.

Delhi Metro trains are soon set to get longer and comfortable with new coaches having started arriving from the plant of Bombardier Transportation at Savli in Gujarat.

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In a bid to provide immediate relief to the problem of overcrowding in trains, the new coaches will be added to four-coach and six-coach trains on Line 2 (Gurgaon-Jahangirpuri) and Line 3 (Noida-Dwarka), converting them into eight-coach trains. These two lines account for 60 per cent of the total daily ridership of Delhi Metro - 20 lakh.

According to Metro officials, a four-coach train can carry 1,480 passengers that can be increased to 2,220 passengers in a six-coach train and 2,960 passengers in an eight-coach train. The eight-coach trains will start operating from the next month.

Amid much fanfare, Bombardier on Tuesday successfully delivered the 600th Movia car to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in presence of Sudhir Krishna, union urban development secretary, and Harsh Dhingra, chief country representative (India), Bombardier.

With the delivery of the 600th coach, Bombardier is edging towards completion of its order placed by Delhi Metro since inception.

"The first car was delivered in September 2009 and the last car will be delivered in December," said a Bombardier official. Since August 2010, Bombardier has been delivering its last consignment of 76 cars which would be used to convert four-coach trains into eight-coach trains.

After taking the delivery of the 600th coach, Metro chief Mangu Singh said since DMRC has been fast expanding its network in the National Capital Region, delivery of more cars would help tackle the growing problem of overcrowding in trains.