Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. signed a $308 million contract with Alstom Transport to supply 168 cars for the Indian rapid transit rail system based in the city of Chennai. The contract also includes an option for 16 additional metro cars.

The first deliveries are planned for the end of 2012. The new trains will be equipped with automatic train protection and automatic train operation features.

Chennai’s metro project was initiated in 2007. Phase 1 consists of two interconnected lines, linking North Chennai to the airport in the South and Chennai Central to St.Thomas Mount. It will include 32 stations — 19 equipped with full size platform screen doors — over 28 miles (15 miles underground and 13 miles elevated).

The lines have been planned with a capacity to carry more than 500,000 people daily and a frequency between two trains as short as three minutes. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2014-2015.

Alstom will supply Chennai metro’s public operator with 42 train-sets composed of four cars each. The stainless steel trains will feature air-conditioned interiors and electrically operated automatic sliding doors, offering comfort and easy access to passengers. They will also be equipped with a regenerative braking system ensuring significant energy savings. The cars will operate on 25 KV AC through an overhead catenary system at speeds of up to 50 mph.

Alstom has previously provided train control and signaling systems for the metro of Delhi and is installing them in the metro of Bangalore.