Chennai Metro rail plan to lease driverless trains hits bump
CHENNAI: Metro rail will have to spend more money to buy 42 driverless trains as plans to lease trains have been found to be unfeasible.
The plan to lease 42 trains was suggested as one of the ways to cut down the project cost from 89,000 crore to 61,843 crore. It has now been scrapped after Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) learned that companies do not lease metro trains as they cannot be used elsewhere after the lease period ends. CMRL has planned to operate 138 three-car trains on the 118.9km phase-2 network which is scheduled to open for the public in 2026.
A CMRL official said that meetings with train manufacturers across the world to find out why metro trains are not leased showed that since metro trains are designed specifically for a city or a line, companies that lease them cannot withdraw them and use them elsewhere in case of an issue.
