Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (Southern Circle) AM Chowdhary inspects the driverless trains for the Yellow Line at the Hebbagodi depot on Monday.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: The statutory inspection of driverless trains for Namma Metro's Yellow Line was conducted on Monday, raising hopes that the long-delayed corridor may open soon.
AM Chowdhary, the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (South Circle), inspected two trains supplied by Chinese rolling stock manufacturer, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd.
The first train was imported from China, while the second was assembled by CRRC's India partner Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL).
The latter arrived in Bengaluru on February 9. Under the contract, CRRC-TRSL will supply a total of 36 trains for Rs 1,578 crore.
According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), CMRS inspection is mandatory for inducting new trains into public transport systems. Based on the CMRS report, BMRCL will seek approval from the Railway Board for the new rolling stock.
BL Yashavanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL, stated that the CMRS inspection took place at the Hebbagodi depot and included an assessment of the trains' underframe, circuit board, brakes, suspension and other components.
"The Railway Board will review the CMRS report and the oscillation certification before sanctioning the new rolling stock," he told DH.
BMRCL will soon conduct multiple train tests on the two trainsets to evaluate their signalling capabilities.
After receiving approval from the Railway Board and completion of multiple train tests, BMRCL will invite CMRS for the statutory safety inspection of the Yellow Line.
BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao expressed hope that they would invite the CMRS soon but declined to specify a timeline.
However, BMRCL officials hope that the CMRS inspection would take place by March-end. The CMRS inspection and approval typically take a few weeks. If the safety inspection takes places by March-end, approval could come in mid-April, provided BMRCL meets compliance criteria.
The 19.15-km line, which will connect RV Road with Bommasandra via Electronics City, has long been ready but commercial operations have been delayed due to a lack of trains.
The BMRCL expects to receive the third train by March-end and the fourth by April-end. Rao previously stated that the BMRCL aims to open the Yellow Line by April-end with four trains and a 20-25-minute frequency.