CHENNAI (Metro Rail News): Alstom has started manufacturing 96 Metropolis driverless metro cars for Chennai Metro Phase II at its Sri City facility in Andhra Pradesh. The cars, to be formed into 32 three-car trainsets, are being built under the €135 million contract that Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) awarded to Alstom in 2025.
Alstom marked the start of production at Sri City on 29 October 2026 and announced the milestone on 12 November. The contract covers design and manufacture of the trains and 15 years of comprehensive maintenance after the warranty period. The trains are designed at Alstom’s engineering centre in Bengaluru and built at Sri City under the Make in India programme.
Contract details
| Information | Details |
| Client | Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) |
| Supplier | Alstom |
| Contract value | €135 million |
| Awarded | 2025 |
| Order | 96 cars in 32 three-car trainsets |
| Scope | Design, manufacture and 15 years of comprehensive maintenance after warranty |
| Design centre | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Manufacturing plant | Sri City, Andhra Pradesh |
| Start of manufacturing | 29 October 2026 |
Train features
The Metropolis trains are configured for Grade of Automation 4 (GoA4), which allows fully driverless operation, and have an operational speed of 80 km/h. Each three-car trainset carries up to 900 passengers. The trains have regenerative braking, cybersecurity systems, air conditioning, perch seats, CCTV cameras, real-time passenger information displays, and dedicated spaces for women and passengers with disabilities.
Corridor 4 deliveries completed
The new order follows Alstom’s completion of deliveries for Corridor 4 of Phase II, the 26 km line from Poonamallee Bypass to Light House with 28 stations, 18 elevated and 10 underground. Alstom delivered all 36 trainsets, a total of 108 cars, under a €102 million contract awarded in 2023, with the last deliveries finalised in October 2026.
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“We value our long-standing partnership with CMRL. Our work together began with Chennai’s first metro rail project which also led to the setting up of our Sri City facility to build trains for Chennai Metro Phase I,” said Olivier Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India. “The recent delivery completion of the 108 cars for corridor 4, and now the start of production of additional trainsets reinforces our enduring association with CMRL today and for the future.”
About Chennai Metro Phase II
Chennai Metro Phase II covers about 119 km across three corridors and their inter-corridor sections, with over 76 km elevated and 43 km underground. Alstom has worked with CMRL since 2010 and delivered 208 metro cars for Phase I. In a consortium with Larsen & Toubro, it also built 86 track kilometres of track work on Phase I’s Corridors 1 and 2.
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