Bombardier wins rolling stock contract for Kanpur, Agra metro projects

The consortium, M/s Bombardier Transport India Private Limited, has won the contract for supplying the rolling stock and signaling system for the Kanpur and Agra metro rail projects in Uttar Pradesh.

In the global competitive bidding process, four international firms had submitted their bids with the nodal agency, UP Metro Rail Corporation Limited (UPMRC) on February 18, 2020.

After a detailed technical evaluation by the UPMRC team, the Chinese bidder was earlier disqualified from the final bidding process.

The financial bids of the remaining three technically qualified bidders were opened, and on the basis of the lowest bid, the decision to award the contract to Bombardier Transport India was taken on Friday.

The state-of-art modern stainless steel trains will be manufactured by Bombardier at its plant in Savli, Gujarat.

The contract will cover the supply, testing and commissioning of 201 cars for 67 trains of 3 cars each alongwith the train control & signaling system for the Kanpur and Agra metro projects. The work on the Kanpur Metro has already started.

Earlier, UPMRC had won accolades for achieving the fastest delivery of the first train set in a record 64 weeks period for the Lucknow Metro Phase-1A project, thereby achieving the distinction of fastest metro project implementation in India in less than four and half years.

According to UPMRC, it could be made possible because of the successful implementation of the combined package for rolling stock and signaling.

“The MRTS (mass rail transit system) in Kanpur and Agra is characterised by short inter-station distance of one km between the stations, having a maximum design speed of 90 kmph and schedule speed of 80 kmph,” UPMRC managing director Kumar Keshav said.

He said the selection of technology for trains for UP Metro was governed primarily by the design considerations for energy efficient, reliable, comfortable for passengers in terms of riding quality, lower-noise levels and environment friendliness.

“UPMRC is committed to replicating the achievement in the delivery of Kanpur and Agra metro projects and has set an ‘extremely’ tight deadline of 65 weeks from now for the delivery of the first train set from Bombardier. The strategy of an integrated rolling stock & signaling package for these projects will help in achieving the target,” Keshav added.

Akin to the Lucknow Metro, the state-of-art signaling system based on Communication-based Train Control (CBTC) with Continuous Automatic Train Control System (CATS) has been selected.

After successfully restarting civil construction in full swing at Kanpur Metro site post-lockdown, the award of contract for rolling stock and signaling system will not only boost the economy, but also bring the people of Kanpur and Agra closer to their dream of having their own metro systems, he further observed.