Metro: Trains running packed, BEML bags six-coach contracts

Bengaluru: It is almost impossible to get into a Metro train during peak hour and weekends, as the capacity in coaches is low. Metro commuters have been asking the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd for months to take steps to manage crowds better along Green and Purple lines. BMRCL seems to have woken up at last and awarded the contract for six-coach trains to the state-run BEML, which on Wednesday confirmed that it bagged an order worth Rs 400 crore to augment Metro services in Bengaluru.

A three-coach Metro train can carry around 900 to 1,000 passengers. In each coach, there is seating for 40 passengers, which means in each train only 120 passengers can sit, while over 850 have to travel standing. BMRCL officials said that the new six-coach trains will start running in the next few days.  

“Trains are packed when they arrive. BMRCL was working to increase the capacity and is building it. BEML bagged the contract worth Rs 400 crore to supply six-coach trains. The company is manufacturing coaches and spare parts and mining equipment at its Bengaluru complex,” a BMRCL official said.

“With hardly any place to stand, the commute in Metro trains is becoming a nightmare. Since the trains stop only for a few seconds at stations, commuters are pushed around. We hope the six-coach trains start running soon,” said Kiran Kumar, a Metro commuter.