60 new-gen rakes to be inducted into Kolkata metro fleet over 5 yrs

Kolkata: The city will get 60 new-generation trains over the next four to five years, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday.

Soon after touching down in Kolkata, the minister took a ride from the airport to Noapara station, from where he boarded an auto to Belgharia Expressway. During the metro journey and later while inspecting the Orange Line’s concrete deck (girder) launching work at Chingrighata, he said: “Sixty new-generation trains will be inducted into the Kolkata Metro fleet in the next five years, with a focus on modernising the country’s oldest metro network.”

In Aug 2025, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), which is tasked to implement most of the city’s metro projects, floated a tender for 10 such modern rakes with anti-drag features, so even the smallest part of one’s clothing stuck between doors could nudge the system to stop. And passengers could pull the emergency brakes themselves if they smelt danger. As soon as they got off the train during a fire or other critical situation, the third line, which carries electricity to run the rakes, would automatically switch off.

The requisition for 10 rakes at a cost of Rs 900 crore was cancelled in Sept 2025, or the rakes would have started arriving from 18 to 30 months.

It remains to be seen whether railways would renew the old tender so that the first lot of 10 eight-car rakes could be here by next year to cater to the upcoming lines, which will operate on advanced communication-based train control (CBTC) signalling system that allows 90-150 second frequencies.

The rail minister visited Chingrighata, where the Orange Line work sped up in the last fortnight, after remaining stalled for months. With state urban development minister Agnimitra Paul by his side, Vaishnaw said: “We were tired of asking for permission for Chingrighata (from the erstwhile dispensation). Finally, we had to go to the high court. The HC asked the (then) state govt to grant permission (for traffic blocks at Chingrighata) ... the Trinamool govt moved Supreme Court. Even after losing in Supreme Court, they did not give permission ...”

Kolkata Metro is likely to span 130 km in the next few years. Metro Railway, which runs the (72 km now) network, is reeling under a rake shortage. The under-construction Purple and Orange lines (covering around 8 km each) use four eight-car old Medha rakes, upgraded to CBTC. Only the standard gauge Green Line is self-sufficient with 17 six-car CBTC-compliant BEML rakes. The rest 38 broad gauge and eight-car rakes are being divided among the Blue, Purple and Orange lines.