Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) received the first set of Made in India coaches, five months ahead of schedule from Alstom Transport, manufacturers for the project.
Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu released the first set in the presence of Kerala Minister for Power and Railways Aryadan Muhammed at an official ceremony.
The ceremony took place at the Alstom’s facility in Sri City (Special Economic Zone) in Tada, Andhra Pradesh. The coaches will now be transported to Kochi from Sri City.
In his brief speech, Naidu urged the industry units to create more employment in the region and appealed to take up projects benefitting the locals.
According to a Kochi metro release, the order for 25 train sets was placed in August 2014 and the French company Alstom delivered the first train set in record time.
Each train will be fitted with two air conditioning units per car to provide thermal comfort to the commuters. The 25 coaches would run on an elevated metro rail network of 25 km and 22 stations across Kochi.
The unique design of Kochi metro featured LED lights on the front which are in the shape of an elephant’s tusk.
The metro line is expected to be open by the end of 2016.
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