Alstom says it has commenced production of Delhi’s 160 kmph Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) rolling stock at its Savli facility in Gujarat.
The manufacturer will produce 210 coaches for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut 160 kmph RRTS Phase 1 line. In May 2020, Alstom won the contract to build 30 six-coach trains for the Delhi-Meerut route and another 10 trains of three coaches each for intracity operation in Meerut. The company also has to maintain the trains for 15 years.
Alstom has not specified when it will deliver the RRTS rolling stock to the operator National Capital Region Transportation Corporation (NCRTC). We will update the post with this information when we receive it.
[UPDATE: Alstom says deliveries will begin in early 2022]
The trainsets are designed for 180 kmph but will operate at maximum speeds of 160 kmph on the 82-kilometre Delhi-Meerut route.
A statement released by Alstom claims that the trains are being manufactured with 80% local material. The Savli facility will manufacture the bogies and the car bodies and the propulsion systems will be manufactured in Alstom’s Maneja, Gujarat factory. “We are happy to begin local manufacturing of these technologically advanced trains for the country’s first semi high-speed commuter service,” says Alain Spohr, Managing Director – Alstom India.
Alstom will also design, supply, install, test and commission the RRTS’s Signalling & Train Control, Supervision, Platform Screen Doors and Telecommunication Systems The Delhi-Meerut RRTS line will be the first India to adopt the European Train Control System (ETCS) hybrid Level 2 signalling system, a core signalling and train control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
