Venkaiah Naidu unveils first ‘Made in India’ car-body shell for Kochi Metro

Kochi, 21^st March, 2015: The manufacture of Kochi metro coaches has officially commenced at Sri City manufacturing unit of Alstom Transport India Limited[1]. Shri. Venkaiah Naidu, Honourable Union Minister for Urban Development, Parliamentary Affairs, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, unveiled the first ‘Made in India’ car-body shell for Kochi Metro. Shri. Aryadan Muhammed, the honourable Minister of Kerala for Power and Metro, Shri. Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli, MP of Tirupati, Shri. K.V. Thomas, MP of Kochi, H.E. François Richier, Ambassador of France in India, Ms. Aude Flogny, Regional Director, South Asia, AFD, Mr. Dominique Pouliquen, Senior Vice President, Alstom Transport and many other official dignitaries from Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) graced the occasion.  The Hon’ble Ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Dr. P. Narayana, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Urban Water Supply and Urban Planning and Mr. B. Gopala Krishna Reddy, Environment & Forests, Science & Technology, Cooperation also attended the function. Shri. Oommen Chandy, honourable Chief Minister of Kerala joined this auspicious function through teleconferencing.

Alstom was awarded a contract to supply 25 state-of-the-art Metropolis train sets to Kochi Metro. The first train sets are expected to be delivered in early 2016.  

Alstom is in charge of the design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 25 standard track gauge trains with an option to supply 25 additional metro sets. Each train will be composed of 3 cars, about 65 m long and with a capacity to carry up to 975 passengers. Recently, Alstom was awarded two more contracts for Kochi Metro Project to supply signalling, telecom and electrification solutions.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Elias George, MD, KMRL, said, “KMRL expects that our rolling stock will be one of the fastest delivered coaches for any metro project in this country with the most modern design and advanced technology while also being cost effective. Efforts have been taken to enhance the customer experience to all possible aspects in the train”.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bharat Salhotra, Managing Director, Alstom Transport India, said, “With the commencement of production at Sricity for Kochi metro, Alstom Transport in India has added yet another feather in its cap. These trains will be manufactured end-to-end at our world class manufacturing facility at Sricity, which is a manifestation of the government's ‘Make in India’ vision. The order from Kochi is our second metro contract in the country after Chennai and reaffirms our commitment to provide 100% localised, competitive, innovative and high value products for our customers to serve the ever growing urban and mainline transportation market in India". 

Kochi Metro Rail Limited 

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which was constituted to handle Kochi Metro Project– a joint venture of Government of India & Government of Kerala. Kochi Metro was designed not just to solve the current traffic troubles in the city, but to stand as a symbol of development and progress, providing the coming generations with a cleaner, pollution free, modern Kochi. The project has a grander vision for the city of Kochi than just the metro service. Kochi Metro Rail Limited envisages for enhancing the life of Kochi’s residents with a better, safer and cleaner urban transport network; one that is integrated and sustainable but never compromising on comfortable mobility. 

It is the only Metro System in India designed with a Multi Modal Transportation Plan, which combines Kochi’s under-utilized waterways, untapped Non-Motorised Transport Systems, vast private bus network and economical feeder services for Last Mile Connectivity. Kochi Metro Rail Limited has proposed an elevated route spanning 25.612 km from Aluva to Petta with 22 stations for the first phase of Kochi Metro project. It is expected to be completed by 2016. 

About Alstom in India 

Alstom is a global leader in power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure. Present in India since 1911, Alstom has strong capabilities in engineering, manufacturing, project management and supply of products and solutions for infrastructure. Alstom has four R&D centres in India: Transport in Bengaluru, Hydro Global Technology Centre in Vadodara and Grid R&D centres in Hosur & Padappai. It has three engineering centres for Power in Noida, Vadodara and Kolkata and fourteen manufacturing units dedicated to: Power - Hydro in Vadodara, Boilers in Durgapur, Power Mills in Shahabad, Steam turbines in Gujarat, Transport at Coimbatore and SriCity and Grid in Padappai, Pallavaram, Hosur, Vadodara, Naini and Noida.

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[1] Alstom herein refers to Alstom Transport India Limited (ATIL). It (ATIL) is a part of Alstom Group and is not a part of Alstom India Limited nor Alstom T&D India Limited.