First Chinese AC rake reaches Noapara, trial run to take place in March-end

Kolkata: Kolkata Metro received its first foreign-made rake in the form of a Chinese AC rake that arrived at the Noapara maintenance base, the trail run of which would be done later this month.

The Metro Railways authorities on Thursday officially put the rake on display at Noapara. Around 13 other rakes would soon come to the city. The other rakes would be sailed for Kolkata in various phases.

The rake was being carried in two tiers of the vessel's deck. After the cargo anchored at Kolkata Port, special cranes were engaged to lift the coaches and load them on to a container. The coaches were then assembled in the Port area to form the rake before it was taken to Noapara by a diesel engine. A Chinese company is manufacturing low-maintenance rakes for Kolkata Metro. Earlier, the Metro rakes used to come from the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur, near Chennai. Altogether, 14 Chinese rakes will replace the snag-prone old non-AC Metro rakes and will also help in reducing the burden on the existing ones that are plied in the North-South corridor. The new rakes will also be used in the expanded network of the Metro. It may also be mentioned here that the Noapara-Airport and Noapara-Baranagar-Dakshineswar lines are scheduled to be commissioned by next year.

The Chinese trains will be able to run at an average speed of 65 kmph, 10 kmph faster than the rakes that are in use. The new rakes will reduce energy consumption too. The doors will be 20 cm wider than the existing AC rakes, a senior Metro official said.

There will be fire extinguishers installed in the coaches and also CCTVs installed inside. Metro officials could not confirm when the new rakes would start their commercial runs.