At a projected cost of Rs 61,843 crore, the Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) intends to start Phase II of its project, which calls for the use of driverless trains. In 2026, the first autonomous service is expected to go on the market.
It has been reported that as part of the Phase II initiative, the CMRL intends to purchase 138 three-coach driverless trains. For the three chosen corridors of Madhavaram to SIPCOT (corridor 3), Light House to Poonamallee (corridor 4), and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (corridor 5), these trains will be purchased through three separate contracts.
According to a CMRL spokesman, the driverless trains would go through intensive testing for a whole year before being used to transport the public in Chennai. The train’s designs are now being finalised, and they should be finished within a month. The initial batch of trains, comprising 26 units, will operate between Poonamallee and Porur. All of these trains are expected to arrive by the middle of the next year.
