Metro Phase II awards rolling stock contract for Kamptee corridor

Maha Metro has signed a ₹1,840 crore contract with a consortium led by Titagarh Rail Systems for 18 three-coach standard-gauge trainsets, marking the largest single procurement of Phase II so far.

The award follows an 11-month tender process that drew bids from four consortia, with Titagarh's bid coming in 6.4% below the technical-evaluation reference price. Two of the rejected bids were higher on through-life energy cost, according to the tender evaluation summary reviewed by Nagpur Forward.

The first trainset is expected at the Mihan depot by mid-2027, with dynamic testing on the Automotive Square–Kanhan stretch slated to begin in Q4 2027. Revenue operations on the full Kamptee corridor are targeted for early 2028.

For North Nagpur, the corridor is expected to cut peak-hour travel into the city core from 55 minutes to under 25, according to VNIT's 2026 impact study. Feeder bus integration is planned at Khasara, Kanhan and Kamptee Cantonment, with NMC committing 28 additional electric feeder buses by mid-2027.

Officials confirmed that the new trainsets will use the same regenerative braking and solar-augmented traction model as Phase I. Maha Metro estimates the network's energy footprint will stay flat despite a 38% expansion in route-kilometres — a claim we'll be tracking against actual draw data once Phase II goes live.

Two procurement risks remain. First, semiconductor lead times on traction inverters have slipped from 22 to 31 weeks industry-wide. Second, the depot expansion at Mihan is currently four weeks behind its civil-works baseline, per the November project monitoring report.

What this means for residents: if you live north of Automotive Square, your daily commute math changes meaningfully in 2028. If you're in Kamptee Cantonment, expect construction-related diversions on the NH-44 service road through most of 2027. We'll publish a monthly tracker starting January.