After months of scouting across the world, L&T Metro has zeroed in on time-tested Korean partner Hyundai Rotem for manufacturing coaches for the Hyderabad Metro. The Korean company has alrea-dy supplied coaches for Delhi and Bengaluru metro in partnership with India’s Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. “The much-awaited rolling stock order has been awarded to Hyundai Rotem Company after examining various rolling stock manufactures operating in metros in India and abroad,” said Mr V.B. Gadgil, the chief executive officer of L&T Metro. Hyundai Rotem is the railway arm of Hyundai Group, which also owns the car-making unit.
Hyundai Rotem will manufacture 171 cars or coaches for 57 metro trains for an estimated price of Rs 1,800 crore. The coaches will be delivered nine months prior to the commissioning of each stage as per the construction schedule. The first phase of the Rs 20,000-crore project is expected to be ready by the end of 2013. The Korean company has been selected after considering the proposals of Canada’s Bombardier, Spain’s Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles and China’s CSR Corp Ltd.
According to Larsen & Toubro, Hyundai Rotem has supplied coaches to projects in Japan, Greece, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Turkey and Korea. The metro train would have light weight stainless steel or aluminium-bodied three-car formations, with a trailer car between two motored driving cars. With a maximum operating speed of 80 km per hour and an average speed of 33 km per hour, the three-coach metro can carry 965 people.