BEML Wins Rs. 3,658 Cr. Rolling Stock Contract for Chennai Metro
BEML Limited has won a contract for supplying 210 metro coaches for Chennai Metro’s phase 2 project at an estimated cost of Rs. 3,658 crore. These coaches will be supplied under package ARE02A of the Chennai Metro.
The coaches will be configured into 70 train sets, each consisting of three coaches: a Driving Motor Coach (DMC), a Trailer Coach (TC), and another DMC.
The coaches will be deployed on Lines 3 and 5 of the Chennai Metro, which span 45.4 Km and 44.6 Km, respectively. Line 3 will connect Madhavaram to Siruseri, while Line 5 will run from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur.
BEML’s responsibilities include designing, manufacturing, supplying, testing, and commissioning the metro coaches. Additionally, the package covers training of relevant personnel. This contract spans a period of 21 years and 10 months, which includes 15 years of maintenance.
The first trainset is expected to be delivered in January 2027, with the final trainset scheduled for delivery by April 2029. The new trains for Chennai will need to meet Grade of Automation-4 (GoA4) standards* for driverless operations.
*GoA4 standards are the highest level of automation in metro train systems. GoA4 relies on Automatic Train Protection (ATP), Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and Automatic Train Control (ATC) systems to make metro operations driverless.
BEML was declared the Lowest (L1) bidder for this project in September 2024. Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. had initially invited bids for this metro package in July 2021 but received no submissions between July 2021 and May 2022. Following this, the company reissued bid invitations in July 2023.
Chennai Metro Phase 2 was approved by the Tamil Nadu government in 2019, with a total estimated cost of Rs. 61,843 crore. Phase 2 of the Chennai Metro is expected to be completed and opened in stages starting in 2026. Once completed, the city’s metro network will span approximately 173 km.
