For the first time, the Metro Rail will be leasing trains for a section of the phase II project, whose work has recently started.
In the phase I and phase I extension projects, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) had floated tenders and acquired trains which were manufactured by Alstom, a French firm. While a few were built in Sao Paolo, Brazil, a majority of them were commissioned from Sri City near the city.
But for the phase II project, they had to go in for leasing trains because they had to cut down on the capital cost of the project, sources said. Initially, the cost estimates for the project, which covers 118.9 km, was touching as much as ₹88,000 crore and subsequently, after a constant push from the Centre on the high cost and the need to bring it down substantially, CMRL trimmed the budget over a period of time. The final cost now stands at ₹61,843 crore.
Sources said as part of the exercise to decrease the cost, one of the ideas being considered was to lease trains instead of purchasing them.
According to officials of CMRL, they have now sought expression of interest (EOI) from firms to provide 42 trains — all three coach units — on lease. This is just to look at how many companies are willing to invest in this leasing project, and how much they will charge for maintenance, a source said. The lease will be for 39 years.
“While the capital cost can be done away with, the actual expenditure, and a rather hefty one at that, may come when CMRL begins paying the operating and rental cost later when services begin,” an official said.
Based on the response to the EOI, CMRL will call for tenders to award contracts for manufacturing trains.