Bombardier's facility in Savli, Gujarat will assemble 162 coaches while 96 new coaches will be procured from state-run BEML's plant in Bengaluru. (File Photo)
Seeking to strengthen its fleet, Delhi Metro will procure 17 new eight-coach trains and convert 61 six-coach trains into eight-coach formations to provide more convenience to the commuters on the Red, Blue and Yellow lines of its network.
A total of 258 new coaches are being procured.
Bombardier's facility in Savli, Gujarat will assemble 162 coaches while 96 new coaches will be procured from state-run BEML's plant in Bengaluru, an official of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said.
These coaches are being procured specifically to cater to the requirements of the Rithala-Dilshad Garden (Red Line), Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre (Yellow Line) and the Dwarka Sector 21-Noida City Centre and Vaishali (Blue Line) corridors, he said.
The new coaches will start arriving in Delhi from the third quarter of 2016 and all coaches will be delivered by early 2018.
The new additions of trains and coaches are expected to help further control the issue of overcrowding in metro trains plying on busy corridors.
Currently, Delhi Metro carries approximately 25 lakh people everyday on its network with the Yellow and the Blue lines being the busiest corridors.