China to ship 18 trains for Mumbai Metro

China is set to dispatch 18 high-tech metro trains to Mumbai's new subway network under a $110 million contract and the rails would be ready for operation after their trial run in India's financial hub.

The subway trains rolled off the production line on March 20 and would take a month to ship from Shanghai before their trial is launched in Mumbai in May, said Qian Houkuan, Director of Information and Technology at Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works which manufactured the rails.

The trains are China's first-ever export of A-type subway rails, which are wider than three metres and have greater passenger capacity than other models, the official Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying today.

The trains, with automatic driving systems and maximum speed of 80 km per hour, could operate in temperatures up to 55 degrees Celsius and 100 per cent humidity, Qin said.

Each of their 3.2-metre compartments could carry 390 people, 72 more than the 3-metre A-type trains used in China, he said. The subway trains were sold to Mumbai at the cost of $110 million.