Lucknow Metro coaches to capture the heritage of City of Nawabs

The front of the Metro will portray the essence of some of Lucknow's most iconic monuments, including Bara Imambara, Asifi mosque and Roomi Gate

The rolling stock (coaches) of the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) would encapsulate the rich cultural heritage of Lucknow, which is popularly known as the ‘City of Nawabs’.

French multinational Alstom is manufacturing the Metro train at its facility in South India.

The front of the Metro has been conceived to portray the essence of some of Lucknow’s most iconic monuments, including Bara Imambara, Asifi mosque and the Roomi Gate, which is the signature edifice of the city.

In September 2015, LRMC had awarded a contract to Alstom to supply 80 Metro cars for 20 train sets of four cars each for North-South Corridor of Lucknow Metro Phase-1A project covering 22 stations.

Each four car Metro train is designed to carry about 1,100 passengers at a time.

The Metro cars are being produced at Alstom’s SriCity manufacturing facility. The signalling system is being jointly supplied by Alstom’s sites in Bangalore, India and Saint-Ouen, France.

The priority section of 8.5 km stretch from Lucknow airport to Charbagh railway station costing about Rs 2,000 crore is fast nearing completion and is slated to begin trail runs from December 2016. The coaches for Lucknow Metro are likely to start arriving from October 2016.

LMRC had yesterday unveiled the two dimensional (2D) design and three dimensional (3D) mock-up of Lucknow Metro train to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in the presence of LMRC MD Kumar Keshav and Alstom India MD Bharat Salhotra.

The Metro train’s exterior livery in golden hue is inspired by the traditional Chikankari craft of Lucknow. The blending of black in front is inspired from the modern feel of Hazratganj, Lucknow’s main commercial hub in the heart of city.

Besides, attention has been paid to passenger comfort with provision for 186 seats in longitudinal configuration and two dedicated zones for differently-abled passengers.

The design criteria for selection of cars for LMRC were energy efficient, reliable and better comfort to passengers in terms of riding quality, lower–noise level and environment friendly, Keshav said at the occasion.

The body shell of cars is made of lightweight stainless steel. An energy efficient train with LED lighting and regenerative braking to feed energy back to overhead electrical energy system during braking is planned.

All system in the train are monitored & selectively controlled by a microprocessor based Train Control & Management System (TCMS).

The facilities for differently-abled passengers inside trains are dedicated wheel chair spaces, braille stickers for visually challenged persons and talk back buttons for easy & comfortable getting down from trains.

Lucknow Metro is a flagship project of the ruling Samajwadi Party.