EOI Invited to Supply 50 Coaches for Nashik Metro Neo

Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) earlier this week invited Expression of Interest (EOI) applications from electric trolley bus manufacturers to supply 50 coaches for the 32 km Nashik Metro Neo project.

Metro Neo is a low-cost electric trolleybus-based transit system aimed to built in cities with a population of less than 10 lakh (tier-3) and suburbs of bigger cities. Rubber-tyred articulated electric buses will run by drawing power from an overhead electrical (OHE) system.

• Date of Pre-EOI Meeting: 20.04.2021 at 11:00 Hrs
• Submission Deadline: 05.05.2021 at 16.00 Hrs
• Date & Time of Opening of EOIs: 05.05.2021

Tender Notice: NS1-RS-02/2021

Scope: Expression of Interest for Design, Manufacture, Supply, Testing, Commissioning of Tyre Based Electric Bus Running on OHE at Nashik for Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.

MahaMetro wants the coaches to be of modern design, lightweight, be made of stainless steel / aluminium with regenerative braking, and operate on 750V DC flexible Overhead Catenary System (OCS).

They also require minimum 75% of the coaches to be manufactured indigenously per MoHUA’s directives to promote the ‘Make in India’ or AatmaNirbharBharat campaign.

Nashik Metro Neo’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) with 2 corridors was prepared by RITES and approved by Maharashtra’s cabinet in August 2019. MahaMetro is looking to operate 36 coaches on Line-1 and 14 coaches on Line-2.

• Line-1: Gangapur – Nashik Road Railway Station (22 km, 20 stations)
• Line-2: Gangapur – Mumbai Naka (10 km, 10 stations)

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance’s Public Investment Board (PIB) had recommended this Rs. 2100 crore project for approval by the Central Government’s cabinet.

The following table is best viewed on a desktop device. If on mobile, swipe to see Corridor 2’s specs.

Design Data of Trolley Buses

Parameters	Corridor 1	Corridor 2
Number of coaches	36	14
Maximum Design Speed	70 kmph	70 kmph
Maximum Acceleration	1.3 m/s^2	1.3 m/s^2
Length	More than 20m	More than 15m
Width	2.55 m	2.55 m
Height	3.5m approx	3.5m approx
Coach Body	Aluminium/Stainless Steel	Aluminium/Stainless Steel
Axle load	Around 10 Tonne	Around 10 Tonne
Carrying Capacity	250 Persons	200 Persons
Articulation	Double Articulated vehicle	Single Articulated vehicle
Traction System	750 V DC
Braking System	Electrodynamic Regenerative BrakeService or station brakesEmergency brakeParking brake
Auxiliary Power Unit	Batteries or/and ultra capacitors
Energy Management System	Lighting, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, actuators, Wi‐Fi, and passenger information systems etc
Interior Layout	More number of standing Area, swift evacuation of the passenger in short dwell period.
Door	Doors of adequate width shall be provided. All the doors shall be equipped with handles, Press buttons shall be provided which will allow the passengers to open and close individual doors from both inside and outside when halting at stops.
Drivers Compartment	1. The driver’s compartment shall separate the driver from the passengers thus protecting him from disturbing influences. The driver’s compartment shall be designed keeping in view the driver’s comfort and safety. The driver’s seat shall be designed to meet the latest ergonomic requirements. 2. The instrument panel in the driver’s compartment shall consist several indications which will help the driver to know about the status of he vehicle. The indications may include speed of the vehicle, status of batteries, voltage of overhead contact system etc.
Passenger Safety Features	1. CCTV camera on board 2. PA-PIS System 3. Emergency evacuation system 4. Fire and smoke detectors 5. Fire retardant design 6. Signage for passenger safety and information
Selection of technology	1. Passenger comfort & safety 2. Proven equipment with high reliability 3. Energy efficiency 4. Light weight equipment and coach body 5. High rate of acceleration and deceleration 6. Optimized scheduled speed 7. Flexibility to meet increase in traffic demand 8. Aesthetically pleasing Interior and Exterior 9 .Low Life cycle cost 10. Adequate HVAC

Here’s MahaMetro’s concept video from 2019:

I’m not sure why they’d have different but awfully close length specifications for both lines’ coaches. To optimize manufacturing costs, ideally there should be one specification.

Anyhow, this EOI process is just a “feeler” to see which vendors out there would be interested and capable of bidding for the coaches. When it concludes, MahaMetro will invite bids from the shortlisted firms. I’m curious to see who submits applications!

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– TMRG