On Thursday, the last of the Sydney Metro’s rolling stock departed from its manufacturing site in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. French transport infra major, Alstom, flagged off the shiny, silver six-car train from its running shed. With this, the company has managed to execute its first-ever export order, on schedule.

While the Sydney Metro Project was conceived in 2014, Alstom ramped up production late last year. “A total of 18 Metro trains with six coaches each, were delivered in the last 18 months,” Alain Spohr, managing director (India and South Asia), Alstom, told CNBC-TV18.

Key Differentiators

While Alstom has manufactured trains for the Chennai, Kochi and Lucknow Metro projects, the Sydney Metro, the company says, comes with some key differentiators. “It’s a six-car metro as opposed to our metros in India, which are three-car or four-car trains,” said Spohr, “The internal layout has also been adjusted to the requirements of our Australian customers — it’s bigger and more spacious.”

That’s not all. Unlike the Chennai Metro Rail, the Sydney Metro is driver-less. This means a clear view of the tracks as the train speeds along, with a minimalist control panel on the left. “A driver-less train that can be operated from a central control station, outside the cabin,” said Spohr. “The controls within are for riding the train between the line and the yard.”

On completion of the project, Alstom built a line length of 36 km and 22 six-car trains for the Sydney Metro. Passenger displays are present in every car, with a total of 38 surveillance cameras on each train.

Coming Up: Montreal And Mumbai Metros

With the project done and dusted, the company will now focus on its upcoming orders: Line 3 of the Mumbai Metro and the Montreal Metro Project.

“We delivered the last of the Lucknow Metro’s coaches last month,” said Spohr. “Our next target is to increase our capacity to produce the Montreal Metro before we start manufacturing the Mumbai Metro.” He added that Alstom will begin manufacturing the trains by October or November next year.

First Published:Dec 7, 2018 8:26 PM IST