Metro to get 258 new coaches.

Metro users for whom jostling for space to stand has become a part of their daily routine have something to cheer about as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced its plan to procure 17 new eight-coach trains, as well as convert 61 six-coach trains into eight-coach trains.

The new-formation trains aims to ease the pressure on the busy Red, Yellow and Blue lines of the Delhi Metro network.

As of Monday, only Yellow and Blue lines have eight-coach trains, with 33 eight-coach trains operating on the Yellow line and 25 eight-coach trains operating on the Blue line. The Red line currently only uses four and six coach trains.

In total, 258 new coaches are being procured, of which 162 coaches will be assembled at Bombardier’s facility in Savli in Gujarat and 96 new coaches will be procured from BEML’s plant in Bengaluru.

The coaches are expected to start arriving in the city from the third quarter of 2016 and all coaches will be delivered by early 2018, informed the Delhi Metro.

They added that steps are being carried taken to make journey more comfortable for the 25 lakh people who travel on the network, with the Yellow and Blue lines being the busiest.

THE HINDU