Modern Chinese rakes for Kolkata Metro

The indigenous rakes are creating technical glitches

For the first time, Indian Railways has roped in an international train-maker to manufacture rakes for the country’s first underground mass transit system in Kolkata. Beijing-headquartered China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) has bagged the order to manufacture 14 air-conditioned rakes, each consisting of eight coaches, for the Kolkata Metro.

The rakes would be supplied by CNR Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock, a subsidiary of CRRC. The state-owned Chinese company is the world's largest rolling stock company and has a turnover of about $145 billion. “The delivery of the 14 rakes from China will start in two years’ time,” Kolkata Metro spokesperson R N Mahapatra told Business Standard.

While the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) avails coaches from international coach makers such as Hyundai Rotem of South Korea and Bombardier of Canada, the country’s first underground mass transit system in Kolkata was so far dependent on the Railways’ Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur for rolling stock.

While the Railways is close-lipped about the value of the order, a source claimed the order was worth about Rs 800 crore. The Perambur-manufactured air-conditioned rakes currently run by the Kolkata Metro cost Rs 38 crore each.

The selection of the company to provide the rakes for the Kolkata underground was hit when the Railways cancelled the bidding process midway and floated a fresh tender last year. Railway officials said that it was in 2011, when the railways originally floated a global tender to procure the rakes. Apart from eventual Chinese winner, Spanish firm Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles had shown an interest and participated in the bidding along with some Indian firms.

The tendering process also had to deal with technical issues. “Companies across the globe normally deal with the standard gauge. But the present Kolkata Metro is a broad-gauge system, unlike metros in other parts of the country, which use the standard gauge. Hence, we had some difficulties find a manufacturer,” said an official.

Some of the indigenously developed rakes employed by Kolkata Metro have been upgraded, while some air conditioned rakes were introduced in the last couple of years. However, reports of the metro services being affected due to technical glitches with these rakes are common.The 14 new coaches are expected to be based on the latest technology and expected to address such issues.

The metro in Kolkata, with an average daily traffic of  over 500,000, currently runs 27 rakes, including 13 air-conditioned ones. Along with the  14 rakes to come from China, the Integral Coach Factory would also supply two  air conditioned rakes in a couple of years. By 2016, the Kolkata Metro plans to run only air conditioned rakes.