CM Fadnavis wants Metro coaches to be manufactured in Maharashtra

The move is a part of the ‘Make in Maharashtra’ initiative, said Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked officials in the state industries department to draft a policy that offers incentives to coach-manufacturing companies to set up units in Maharashtra. Fadnavis, who heads the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), recently asked its officials to engage in a dialogue with companies that manufacture Metro coaches.

Currently, Maharashtra has eight ongoing metro projects in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, and requires around 600 coaches for the corridors. (HT file photo)

Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “The move is a part of the ‘Make in Maharashtra’ programme. The CM has directed the urban development and industries departments to formulate a package giving incentives to companies that are willing to undertake rolling stock manufacturing in Maharashtra.”

Darade, who was part of the meeting in which the decision was taken, said, “Maharashtra, and particularly Mumbai, will procure maximum number of coaches. This will also lead to direct and indirect employment generation.”

Currently, Maharashtra has eight ongoing metro projects in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, and requires around 600 coaches for the corridors. Apart from that, the MMRDA has planned several other corridors in Mumbai which will require additional coaches over the next few years.

Currently, only three companies manufacture rakes in India— the Indian subsidiaries of Bombardier and Alstom, and the Indian PSU (public sector undertaking) BEML. Meanwhile, Chinese state-run company China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) has proposed to invest Rs1,500 crore to set up a rolling stock manufacturing unit at Butibori MIDC Extension in Nagpur for the Nagpur Metro projects.

According to a senior bureaucrat, however, getting companies to invest in Maharashtra will be a tough task. He said that since there are several Metro rail projects being implemented across the country, the manufacturing companies are likely to opt for the state offering the most lucrative incentives.