DMRC to upgrade to 8-coach metro fleet by March 2021

New Delhi : In a bid to accommodate the increasing footfalls, Delhi Metro plans to convert all six-coach trains to eight-coach ones by March 2021 and press them into service on the Red, Yellow and Blue Lines.

Currently, both six-coach and eight-coach trains operate on these three lines. "The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) is procuring 120 coaches and the conversion is likely to be completed by March 2021 in a phased manner," a senior official in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited said.

"There are 39 six-coach trains on Red Line (Line 1), there are 12 and 9 six-coach trains on Yellow (Line 2) and Blue Line (Line 3/4), respectively," he added. The Blue and Yellow Lines are the busiest corridors and mostly have eight-coach trains. However, there are still some of the six-coach trains left and these will be fully converted into eight-coach train sets.

The Red Line, which is the oldest corridor, only has six-coach trains. In fact, Delhi Metro Red Line had four-coach trains, which were upgraded to six-coach sets gradually. DMRC first introduced a six-coach train on the Delhi Metro Red Line corridor in November 2013.

The very first eight-coach train was introduced on the Delhi Metro Blue Line on December 23, 2010, and subsequently six coach trains were introduced on Yellow Line from February 6, 2011. Currently, Delhi Metro spans nearly 350 km, having over 250 metro stations and nine colour-coded lines.