An additional six-coach train was introduced by Bengaluru Metro officials on the Purple Line running from east-to-west in the city. Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) further plans to introduce 3 more six-coach trains from April.
With the addition of the six-coach train, there are now 7 six-coach trains operating in the city, with six of them running from east to west on the Purple Line.
This comes after the first six-car metro running on the Green Line of the Namma Metro between Nagasandra in the north and Yelachenahalli in the south was flagged off in January. On the same day, two six-car trains were added to the Purple Line connecting Mysuru Road and Baiyappanahalli.
Until June 2018, all the Namma Metro trains running in the city consisted of three coaches. With a total capacity of 975 passengers at a given time, this caused a space crunch in peak hours of the metro service. The six-car train in comparison can accommodate as many as 2,000 passengers and are currently deployed when the metro is in high demand, particularly the peak hours for travelling office-goers in the morning and in the evening.
The six-car train has better energy efficiency and is also capable of automatically regulating its temperature by sensing the ambient air temperature. The first coach in the six-car train and the first two doors in the same train are reserved for women passengers.
By September, all Namma Metro trains in the city will be converted into six-car trains. However, BMRCL officials have suggested that the demarcations for men and women passengers many be lifted when all trains running in the city are six-coach trains.
BEML has received a contract for developing seven six-coach metro trains for a cost of around Rs 400 crore.