ABB bags Rs508-crore Bengaluru metro network order

Power and automation technology group ABB Ltd has won an order worth Rs506 crore from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd to provide power solutions for the planned metro network in Bengaluru, the company said in a statement.
 
This is a turnkey project for the first phase of the mass rapid transport system for the Karnataka capital. It comprises two main lines covering 42 km, about one-fifth of it underground, and serving 41 stations. ABB will design, supply, install and commission four substations that receive and distribute electricity, each rated at 66/33 kilovolts, as well as the auxiliary and traction substations.

"ABB technologies will help provide a reliable and efficient supply of power to the Namma Metro. We are proud to partner BMRCL in this endeavour to provide an efficient urban rail network that will help decongest the roads of Bengaluru and improve accessibility of the commercial zones," Biplab Majumder, ABB's vice-chairman and managing director, said in the statement.

The company will supply transformers, capacitors, relays, and the associated cables and switchgear for the project. ABB will also provide an integrated network management or SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system to monitor and control the installations.

Bengaluru's population has grown significantly in recent years to about seven million, and the population of India's rapidly expanding IT capital is expected to rise to more than 8.5 million by 2011.

The statement adds that increased focus on the environment, urbanisation and economic growth in emerging markets are supporting the expansion of rail networks in many parts of the world. ABB has a range of power and automation products and solutions for the rail industry and a vast global installed base. It is one of the growth industries that the company is focusing on. In India, ABB technologies are already helping to power the Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata urban rail networks.