DB & DMRC Bid for Chennai Metro Phase 2’s O&M Contract
Deutsche Bahn International Operations GmbH (DB IO) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC) last week submitted bids for the operations & maintenance (O&M) contract of 116.1 km Chennai Metro Phase 2 project for a period of 12 years.
Chennai Metro’s Phase 2 by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) was approved by the Central Government’s Cabinet in October 2024 but has been well under construction since May 2021. The project includes the construction of 3 new metro lines, with a mix of underground & elevated routes, and 125 stations from an original number of 128.
- Line-3: Madhavaram to SIPCOT (45.4 km with 49 stations)
- Line-4: Light House to Poonamalle Bypass (26.1 km with 28 stations)
- Line-5: Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (44.6 km with 48 stations)
This O&M contract aims to enhance efficiency and service quality. I didn’t get a chance to download the tender’s detailed scope before the bidding period ended, but an O&M contract like this would typically involve overseeing day-to-day operations, maintenance, and customer service. This includes managing station facilities, train schedules and implementing safety protocols for smooth passenger experience.
CMRL had invited bids for this contract in August 2024 with a 12 year contract date that would start from the commencement date of the final section/stage of Phase 2. It includes a provision to extend the contract by 3 years in case of satisfactory performance.
Brief Scope: Selection of the “Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Contractor for Chennai Metro Rail Phase II -Corridor-3 ((Madhavaram Milk Colony to Siruseri SIPCOT-II Metro), Corridor- 4 (Lighthouse to Poonamallee Bypass) and Corridor-5 (Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur), including Maintenance Depots at Madhavaram, Poonamallee & Semmancheri”
Both DB and DMRC were also the only two bidders for the 12 year O&M contract of the 82 km Delhi – Meerut RRTS Line. That tender was eventually won by DB in 2022 which now provides O&M services under their subsidiary named DB RRTS Operations India Pvt. Ltd.
Coming back to Chennai, its 116 km Phase 2 like other metro projects is planned to be operationalized in stages. Among them Line-4’s roughly 7.9 km Poonamallee Bypass – Porur section, built by HCC – KEC JV, will be the first to open which I reckon will happen no sooner than Q1 2026.
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– TMRG
Hey TMRG, GMRL published a tender yesterday for construction of the first half of the new Gurgaon Metro line. Not sure if you saw it or not.
Thanks, yup looking through the designs right now
DMRC in CMRL .. points to ponder allot
If there’s a different operator for phase 2 stations, switching between phase 1 and phase 2 lines at interchange stations through a common AFC zone will not be possible right? Asking since Marol Naka station in mumbai has diff operators for line 1 and 3, and don’t have a common afc zone
This is O&M not operator. CMRL will still be the operator of both phases.
Oh I see, what’s the difference between O&M and Operator? Why I asked that question in the first place is that DB is the operator for RRTS and DMRC is for line3 mumbai.
For RRTS and Aqua Line, NCRTC and MMRC respectively are still the overall operators who have final say in ticketing. O&M is merely to subcontract some of the day-to-day routine work to private players.
https://themetrorailguy.com/2023/04/13/dmrc-wins-mumbai-metro-line-3s-om-contract/
Kindly check the scope of DMRC in line 3, includes tickets too
Hey TMRG, there has been a new tunnel breakthrough for Patna Metro on March 11. Any update on the same?
Just posted here: https://themetrorailguy.com/2025/03/13/lts-patna-metro-tbm-3-records-breakthrough-at-patna-junction/
The deadline for the first section is Dec 2025, which has a quite high likelihood of being met in my opinion