First India-made train for Yellow Line arrives in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The first India-assembled driverless train for Namma Metro's Yellow Line has finally arrived in Bengaluru, ending a long wait. 

The six-coach trainset, dispatched on trailers by rolling stock manufacturer Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL) in late January, reached the Hebbagodi depot in southeastern Bengaluru on Sunday. 

The coaches are being coupled to form a full rake, which will then undergo static and signalling tests. Afterwards, the rake will be used to conduct multiple train (anti-collision) tests with the prototype Chinese-made train. 

According to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the multiple train tests will start in the first week of March. 

Based on the test results, the BMRCL will invite the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) for statutory inspection of the 19.15-km Yellow Line, which will connect RV Road with Bommasandra. 

The BMRCL hopes to get a third train for the Yellow Line — the second made in India — by the end of March. 

In addition, TRSL has promised to deliver another train — fourth overall for the Yellow Line — by April, with plans to ramp up production to deliver two trains per month by September. 

The train, which reached Bengaluru on Sunday, was rolled out by TRSL at its plant in Uttarpara, West Bengal, on January 6. However, the company took several more weeks to dispatch the train to Bengaluru. 

A senior BMRCL official in the know said that the trainset had to undergo some final tests before being dispatched.   

TRSL is manufacturing 34 of the 36 trains as part of a Rs 1,578-crore contract awarded to China's CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd in 2019. Of these, 15 trains are for the Yellow Line and the rest for the Purple and Green lines. 

The prototype train for the Yellow Line, imported from China, arrived in Bengaluru in February 2024 and is undergoing trial runs. CRRC has also delivered the prototype train for the Purple and Green lines. 

The BMRCL is hopeful that it can open the long-delayed Yellow Line with four trains by April with a headway of 20-25 minutes. It aims to serve 6,000 to 15,000 passengers per peak hour. Four trains can serve 8,000-10,000 passengers per hour.