India: Maharashtra Metro Rail, the railway operator of the Indian state of the same name, has opened the first section of an 11.1 km elevated metro line.
The 11-station section is located in a satellite town of India’s largest city, and eight three-car trains will run every 15 minutes.
In 2014, a contract was concluded with the consortium of Ansaldo STS, Tata Projects and CRRC, which share was $48.7 mln, to supply the rolling stock and signalling systems. The rolling stock was delivered to the city in 2019–2020. Being 64.6 m long, each train can accommodate 1,100 people, has 150 seats, and reaches a maximum speed of 80 km/h.
Construction of the line, managed by the government agency CIDCO, began in 2011 and was due to be completed by the end of 2015. However, problems with contractors and the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions caused the delay.
