INDIA: The Pune IT City Metro Rail Ltd consortium of Tata and Siemens which holds a 35-year PPP concession for the Pune metro Line 3 (Pink) project has awarded Keolis a 10-year contract to operate the future line.
In what Keolis said would be ‘a particularly unprecedented initiative’ the Line 3 trains will be driven exclusively by women, with around 100 Train Pilots to be recruited and trained. Keolis said special attention would be paid to their safety and well-being during their journeys to and from work.
Line 3 project
The 23 km elevated line which is currently under construction between the Hinjewadi IT hub and the central business district in Shivajinagar will be the third in the city, the first two having been built and operated by a government body.
It is intended to drastically reduce travel time in a corridor where significant levels of employment and large-scale residential development have led to road congestion and connectivity bottlenecks.
Keolis will mobilise and prepare to operate the line under timelines to be agreed with the concessionaire, and then maintain the 22 three-car 1 435 mm gauge Alstom Metropolis trainsets, 23 stations and the ticketing system for 10 years.
International experience
Keolis said it brings ‘vast international experience in PPP based transit projects’. The latest contract announced on September 8 offers it a ‘unique opportunity to extend its expertise in a fast-growing market’, expanding its international footprint while contributing to the development of transport services tailored to local needs.
Keolis currently operates or is preparing to launch nine metro networks in six countries. It has been present in India since 2012, providing operations and maintenance services to L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad where it began commercial operations in 2017.
