BANGALORE Metro Rail Corporation has issued an invitation to tender for a contract to lengthen its fleet of 50 three-car trains, which were supplied by a consortium of BEML, Mitsubishi and Hyundai Rotem for the initial phase of the network.

Cities across India are working on numerous new metro line projects in an effort to battle congestion. Utilising data from IRJ Pro, Kevin Smith presents a round-up of the latest schemes taking shape in major cities across the country.

India’s railways minister Suresh Prabhu, who was appointed in November 2014, is the latest in a line of recent railway ministers tasked with attempting to reform Indian Railways. Raghav Thakur assesses IR’s current condition and how far the railway minister has got.

CHENNAI International Airport joined the Indian city’s metro network on September 21, with the inauguration of the 8.6km second phase of Line 1 (Blue Line) from Little Mount.

THE cabinet of the Indian state of Maharashtra gave the go-ahead on September 27 for two metro projects in Mumbai.

JINDAL Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) announced on September 6 that it has become India’s first manufacturer of head hardened rails for high-speed rail and metro applications.

INDIA’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) granted approval on August 24 for nine projects representing an investment of around Rs 243.5bn ($US 3.6bn) to increase rail capacity in nine states.

INDIAN Railways (IR) is exploring options to extricate itself from a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) precondition that binds it to acquire rolling stock and systems equipment from Japanese companies, after talks with a Kawasaki-led consortium over the acquisition of 200 freight locomotives broke down.

THE government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh released the first tranche of funding on August 11 for land acquisition for the initial phase of the metro network in Vijayawada.

A locomotive-hauled Talgo variable-gauge train set a new Indian rail speed record on July 13, reaching 180km/h during trials on the Mathura - Palwal section of the Agra - Delhi line.