1.4 million daily riders will benefit from new metro services connecting the city clusters of Agra and Kanpur and iconic destinations including the Taj Mahal.

Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation has received a Letter of Award (LoA) from India’s Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) to build and deliver 201 metro cars and an advanced signalling solution for the Agra-Kanpur Metro projects. For the 30 km Agra Metro and the 32 km Kanpur Metro, Bombardier’s scope for the contract comprises 67 BOMBARDIER MOVIA metro three-car trainsets and the advanced BOMBARDIER CITYFLO 650 rail control solution. The Letter of Award is valued at approximately Rs 2051 crore (245 million euro, $275 million US) and the customer has a provision to exercise an option of an additional 51 metro cars.

Kumar Keshav, Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC), Lucknow (India), expressed his delight at having the Bombardier Consortium as an integrated Rolling Stock and Signaling System partner for the upcoming Metro projects. He said, “UPMRC has the responsibility of implementing the prestigious Kanpur and Agra Metro projects in the State of Uttar Pradesh in India in a very strict time frame.

After achieving the distinction of completing the Lucknow Metro as the fastest implemented metro project in India in less than four and half years (36 days ahead of schedule), UPMRC is committed once again to replicating the same achievement in the delivery of the Kanpur and Agra Metro Projects. Manufacturing and supply of 67 high-end state-of-the art modern trainsets of three-cars each, manufactured in Savli, India by Bombardier, shall be a feather in “Make in India” dream of India.”

He further stated that this partnership between UPMRC and Bombardier for delivering the Rolling Stock and Signaling System for Kanpur and Agra Metro Projects will prove to be a very satisfying experience for all the associated parties in implementing these world-class Metro Projects in short time.

Rajeev Joisar, Managing Director for India at Bombardier Transportation India, said, “Bombardier is honoured to have been chosen by Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) for this highly collaborative project to deliver the rolling stock and advanced signalling system for the Agra and Kanpur metro projects.

The new metro cars will be locally designed and built, and the rail control will be equipped by our project delivery teams in India. With this award, Bombardier becomes the only rail supplier in India chosen to deliver the broad portfolio of rail solutions for Indian customers in the segments of Metro and Commuter cars, Rail Equipment, Signalling Systems and Services.”

He added, “We are very proud of the confidence bestowed on us by our new customer, UPMRC in India, to move millions of people daily with our trains and signalling solutions, and to be partners in delivering their vision of ‘Moving People, Adding Values’. We look forward to bringing our innovative, safe and reliable mobility solutions to Agra and Kanpur’s citizens and to making a major positive impact on the local environment and economy.”

The Agra and Kanpur metro rail projects will have two corridors each connecting major public nodes, tourist places including the Taj Mahal, and city cluster areas, resulting in a sustainable and reliable public transport system for the two cities. For the four million people in Kanpur and the two million people in Agra, the metro will bring improved connectivity and an enhanced passenger experience.

The project will be executed in accordance with country’s ‘Make in India’ guidelines, with the trains being manufactured at Bombardier’s Savli and Maneja sites near Vadodara in India. The rolling stock will be designed at the Global Engineering and Technology Centre in Hyderabad, India.

In India, Bombardier is one of the largest rolling stock providers and the largest signalling solution supplier to Delhi Metro, one of the world’s leading metro operators. Since 2007, 816 metro cars have been ordered and more than 140 km of metro lines have been equipped with Bombardier’s signalling technology. In addition to the CITYFLO 650 solution installed on Delhi’s lines 7 and 9, Delhi Metro lines 5 and 6 are equipped with Bombardier’s CITYFLO 350 signalling solution.

This is the second major contract for Bombardier in India this year. In May 2020, Bombardier announced that it had won the contract to build and deliver 30 regional commuter trainsets of six-cars each and 10 intracity mass transit trainsets of three-cars each, together with 15 years of rolling stock maintenance for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut semi-high-speed rail corridor of the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) from India’s National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).