By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Beginning March 1, only women will be permitted entry and exit through the first two doors behind the loco-pilot’s cabin in some trains, announced Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director Mahendra Jain.

Speaking at a function held to mark the official handover of the first three intermediate cars that would be used to ready the first six-car Metro train in Bengaluru, Jain said, “Two out of the four doors in the first coach in a few trains in both the Green Line and Purple Line will permit only women to use them. Depending on the response, we will extend it to all the trains on our network.”Jain added that this feature would become redundant in Metro trains after six coaches are in place and the first coach is fully reserved as a Ladies Coach.

BMRCL had signed a Rs 1,421 crore contract with BEML in March 2017 for delivery of 150 coaches with Agence Francaise de Developpment funding the scheme. Specifying a timeframe for the delivery of all coaches, Jain said, “The integration and testing for the coaches would go on for two months. Once it is certified, full-fledged production would start. From June to August we hope to get 6 coaches a month which would increase to 9 a month in September and would go up to 12 coaches a month after that. By June 2019, all the 150 coaches would be delivered.”

Union Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ananthkumar reiterated the point about the first two entries in trains to be reserved for women. Ruling out disinvestment of the public sector company BEML, he called for transforming the concern into an ‘international hub of Make in India’. “I will try to ensure orders for suburban coaches are given only to BEML,” he added.

Calling for transforming HAL as ‘an aerospace capital,’ Ananthkumar said, “HAL needs to be converted into an aircraft maintenance hub.”Minister K J George said, “Metro is a never ending project.” BMRCL is working with corporate firms to ensure innovative financing methods for the K R Puram-Silk Board line.

6-car ride for public only by April-end

Bengaluru: Bengalureans are likely to get to travel on a six-car Metro train only by the end of April or in May. Though the Chairman and Managing Director of private sector BEML D K Hota on Wednesday formally handed over three Metro car units to BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ananthkumar and Bengaluru Development and Town Planning Minister K J George on Wednesday, a series of tests are to be done and certifications obtained before commercial operations begin. A joint release by BMRCL and BEML states that the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety is likely to inspect the 6-car coach when it is ready by the last week of April. “Two Motor cars and a Trailer car were handed over to us on Wednesday,” informed R M Dhoke, Rolling Stock, Signalling and Electrical.