Alstom India to double metro train plant capacity at Sri City in AP

In a bid to meet Montreal Metro and Mumbai Metro orders for trains, Alstom India will be doubling its capacity at its plant in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, near here, said a top company official on Thursday.

Alain Spohr, Managing Director for India and South Asia, Alstom, told reporters that the company has bagged orders for 10 more metro trains from Chennai Metro, and is looking at sourcing stainless steel from domestic suppliers.

"We will be doubling our capacity by setting up a new line that could manufacture 22 cars per month. We are also studying the feasibility for rolling out trains made of aluminium."

He was here to flag off the last of the 22 trains for Sydney Metro.

According to Spohr, the Montreal Metro and Mumbai Metro orders will be executed from 2019 onwards. Both the orders involved supplying about 500 cars.

Currently, the plant has a capacity to make about 240 cars per annum.

Spohr said the company is looking at the feasibility of making aluminium trains for the Indian market as there is sufficient capacities for the group in other parts of the world.

He said two more trains will be supplied for Kochi Metro from December 2018 onwards.

On the local content in trains, he said nearly 70 per cent is localised and efforts are on to increase the same.

"India is a major manufacturing and engineering centre for Alstom," Ling Fang, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, said.

Asked about the status of the electric locomotive engine plant in Madhepura in Bihar, Spohr said the assembling of six or seven locomotives has begun.

The electric locomotive project is a joint venture with Indian Railways to make 800 units.

Alstom is also executing signalling and power supply systems for the 343-km section on World Bank funded Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.

--IANS

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