Aluminium coaches for Pune Metro expected to arrive in May 2021 from Italy

On Tuesday, January 5, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation’s managing director Brijesh Dixit announced that aluminium coaches for Pune’s Metro trains would likely arrive in the city in May 2021 from Italy.

Dixit said, “Pune Metro had given the purchase order for 102 aluminium bodied coaches. The Italian company Titagarh Firema, a wholly-owned Italian subsidiary of Titagarh Wagons, is providing these coaches.”

Maha Metro’s public relations officer (PRO) Hemant Sonawane also confirmed the expected arrival of coaches in May 2021, adding that it might get delayed a little due to the current COVID-19 situation in Europe.

The Pune Metro started the trial runs on its corridors using coaches belong to the Nagpur metro.

Titagarh Firema is manufacturing 25 per cent of coaches at their plant in Italy, while the rest is being produced and commissioned at the Maha Metro manufacturing plant in Nagpur.

The coaches arriving from Italy will have aluminium body, CCTV coverage, emergency/panic button, and mobile and laptop charging facility. The coaches can accommodate 925 passengers, enabling them to communicate with driver/operator. Physically challenged passengers will be able to travel seamlessly with space earmarked for wheelchairs.

Owing to the light aluminium body, the coaches are fit for a maximum speed of 95kmph and are energy efficient.