RailEnquiry

SAVLI, GUJARAT: With its ridership increasing, crowding in Delhi Metro trains has become a problem. Come December and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will introduce eight-coach trains on those corridors that have a higher ridership. On Tuesday, it received the 600th MOVIA car from Bombardier at Savli in Gujarat.Manufactured at Bombardier's facility in Savli, the new trains will complement the existing six-coach train fleet and hopefully address the problem of overcrowding, said DMRC managing director Mangu Singh. He was accompanied by urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna while taking the delivery of the car.DMRC had ordered 614 cars from Bombardier for 700 million euros and the first lot had been delivered in September 2009. Singh said his organization has been expanding its network rapidly in the NCR and delivery of more cars would help it tackle over-crowding. "These coaches will help us carry more passengers in a safe and efficient manner," he said. Harsh Dhingra, chief country representative of Bombardier, was also present on the occasion and said the Savli site has evolved into an Indian production and engineering hub.The Delhi Metro began its operations with four coach trains; it then began converting them into six-coach ones in December 2010. While a six-coach train can carry 2,220 passengers comfortably, an eight-coach train would be able to accommodate 2,960 passengers. Delhi Metro carries 20 lakh passengers a day on all its six operational lines with just two corridors-Noida and Gurgaon-accounting for over 60% of the total ridership.

The ridership is expected to touch 40 lakh in 2016 when Phase-III, which will bring another 107 km of the capital under the Metro map, becomes operational. The organization plans to convert most of the trains running on these two corridors that connect the capital with its satellite towns into eight-coach ones.