Delhi Metro Rail, Deutsche Bahn in fray for operation of Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Germany-based Deutsche Bahn have expressed interest in handling the operations and maintenance of the massive 118.9-km Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project currently under development in the city.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Germany-based Deutsche Bahn have expressed interest in handling the operations and maintenance of the massive 118.9-km Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project currently under development in the city.

One of the biggest contracts in the ₹63,246-crore Phase II project involves the handling of operations of the three corridors — Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Light House to Poonamallee, and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur — which includes running train services, maintenance of stations, and controlling the Operations Control Centre, among others.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the tender was floated last year, and now, the two firms have submitted their bids for the project. 

“In the Phase I project, we outsourced the station management alone, and it was given to a firm. With Phase II, we want to cut down cost and improve the efficiency. Hence, we have decided to hand over the entire operations and maintenance to a firm,” an official said.

“The contract is taking some time to get finalised. It may take another month or two to choose the lowest bidder and sign the contract,” the official added.

Sources said they had invited a few more international players to participate in the bidding process, but unfortunately, it did not mateialise. They added it might take some time for the firm to set up facilities here before the launch of the first train services. Hence, it is likely that CMRL itself would manage operations when the first service starts in corridor 4 of the Phase II project between Poonamallee and Porur. 

The DMRC’s involvement with Chennai Metro Rail began almost a decade ago when it served as a consultant during the initial phase of the Phase I project. Subsequently, as the DMRC network rapidly expanded, it broadened its scope and ventured into taking on operations and maintenance contracts, another official said. “They bagged the Mumbai Metro Rail’s Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro Line 3 contract some time ago,’ he added.