The stainless-steel trains will feature air-conditioned interiors, electrically operated automatic sliding doors and a regenerative braking system. The cars will operate on 25kV AC through an overhead catenary system at speeds of up to 80kmh.
In addition to supplying the rolling stock, Alstom will equip the new trains with a signalling system for Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO). The contract also includes an option for 16 additional metro cars. The first deliveries are planned for the end of 2012.
The Metro system will link North Chennai to the airport in the south and Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount. It will include 32 stations - 19 equipped with full-size platform screen doors - over 45km, 24km of which will be underground and 21km elevated. Once complete, the system will have the capacity to carry more than 500,000 people daily.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2014-2015.
Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, located on the southeastern coast of India. It is the fifth most inhabited conurbation in India, with a population of more than eight million people.
Alstom has previously provided train control and signalling systems for the Delhi Metro and is also installing them in the Bangalore Metro.
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