Metro coaches will be 40 per cent cheaper than those procured from China and other countries

For the first time, Indian Railways will manufacture metro rail coaches at its Rae Bareilly based factory under the Make In India scheme, an official said Thursday.

The coaches will be manufactured by robots and will be on par with those being manufactured by Canadian firm Bombardier, currently being used by metro trains in the country.

They will be 40 per cent cheaper than those procured from China and other countries and will be equipped with wi-fi, CCTV cameras, mobile charging outlets among other facilities, the official said.

In addition, they will also boast of safety features including signalling, door control and train management systems along with modern surveillance gadgets on board.

"We already have had two meetings with the government on producing metro coaches. The Maharashtra government has given it's approval for coaches for two metro trains," said Rajesh Agarwal, member (rolling stock), Railway Board.

"We are making a total of six metro coaches as of now," Mr Agarwal said further adding, that the cost of each coach would be Rs 8 crore, while those procured from China or other countries cost around Rs 12 crores.

The board has decided to go for standardised coaches and has asked the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) and the Modern Coach Factory (MCF) to invest in making it a reality, the official said.

Mr Agarwal said the expansion of the MCF at a cost of Rs 480 crore-- including recruitment of experts and technicians on a large scale-- will be completed by December 2018.

"It will also be the first factory in the country where coaches will be produced by robots," he said.