Alstom Wins Chennai Metro Phase 2’s 78 Coach Contract
Alstom Transport India emerged as the lowest bidder to manufacture and supply 78 coaches for Chennai Metro Line-4’s Rolling Stock package after Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) on Tuesday opened financial bids.
26 3-car trains on this line of the 118.9 km Phase 2 project will service Poonamallee Bypass – Light House through 28 (18 elevated & 10 underground) stations, and be stabled & maintained at Poonamallee Depot in western Chennai.
CMRL had originally invited tenders for this rolling stock package in December 2020. After receiving 3 bids in September 2021, the tendering process was abruptly cancelled in November due to “administrative reasons”. Bids were shortly re-invited with a 1960 day (5.37 year deadline) for which CMRL again received 3 bids.
Financial Bid Values
| Firm | Bid (Rs. Crore) |
| Alstom Transport | 946.92 |
| BEML | 1016.27 |
| Titagarh | 1028.19 |
Package: Phase – II / ARE03A
Brief Scope: Design, manufacture, supply, testing, commissioning of standard gauge metro rolling stock (electrical multiple units) and training of personnel for Chennai Metro Project Phase II
CMRL plans to run these trains in a DMC + TC + DMC configuration with the ability to operate at Grade of Automation level-4 for “driverless” Unattended Train Operations (UTO).
Like other Phase 2 packages, CMRL’s estimate for this is unknown, so I can’t provide an assessment on how Alstom’s bid is placed and what the next steps look like.
If awarded, this will be Alstom’s 2nd major contract for Chennai after Phase 1’s 52 train contract, and they will most likely manufacture these out of their nearby facility at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.
For Phase 2’s 3 corridors, CMRL in the past has revealed they are looking procure 288 coaches and wet-lease 126 coaches to run services. Here’s a status table for all 3 rolling stock packages:
| Line | Coaches to be Procured | Coaches to be Leased |
| Line-3 & Line-5 | 210 (Package ARE02 – Bids to be opened May 12) | 126 (Package ARE04) – Cancelled |
| Line-4 | Alstom is lowest bidder | none |
A list of all Chennai Metro Phase 2 tenders (civil, systems) and their status can be viewed here.
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– TMRG
Hat-tip: Kiran & Clevin
