By IANS
New Delhi : Bombardier Transportation, a global major based in Canada, has bagged a contract worth $590 million for supplying 340 coaches for the second phase of Delhi Metro operations.
The company will start delivering the world-class coaches to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) from the last quarter of 2008 with completion in 2010 "to provide effective public transport during the Commonwealth Games".
"Some of the greatest cities in the world, such as New York, Paris, London, Berlin, and Shanghai have chosen Bombardier metros to provide modern mobility for their citizens while reducing traffic congestion and helping their cities breathe," André Navarri, president of Bombardier Transportation, said in statement.
"We are very excited to be able to add the city of New Delhi as a new metro customer," said Navarri.
"We've been an employer in India for over 35 years and we hope that this project will set the standard for other mass transit projects that we intend to pursue in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi and Chandigarh and throughout India."
Delhi Metro currently has 62 trains ferrying over 525,000 commuters every day over its Phase I network of 65 km. Under the second phase, DMRC will add 118 km to its network in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida.
The company said the modern Bombardier high-capacity vehicles will transport an impressive 4 million passengers every day, reducing their journey time and ease the road traffic congestion in the capital city.
Said Rajeev Jyoti, managing director of Bombardier Transportation India: "We are very proud to be one of the first private companies to have been chosen to build rail vehicles in India.
"Bombardier manufacturing and engineering sites in India, supported by our sites in Germany and Sweden, will deliver the new vehicles to Delhi Metro on time and with quality, meriting the trust that the public authorities in India have placed in us," Jyoti added.
The coaches will have stainless steel car bodies and the reliable propulsion system and control system featuring IP technology.
To ensure successful localization, some coaches to be delivered initially will be manufactured by Bombardier sites in Germany and Sweden. Thereafter, Bombardier in India will undertake production.
Key elements of the complete design will be undertaken at Bombardier's Indian engineering centre in Hyderabad in cooperation with Bombardier's site in Sweden.