A train made in China arrived in the city in March 2019 to boost the Metro Railway fleet. On Friday, after four years, the rake was finally inducted into the commercial fleet of the carrier.
The prototype rake, built by CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co, made its inaugural run between Dum Dum and New Garia.
“We had placed orders for 14 Dalian rakes. Four are packed and waiting to be shipped after an inspection... These rakes will run on the north-south corridor now. Later, they can run on other corridors,” said Arun Arora, general manager of Metro Railway.
Metro officials had hoped to start commercial runs of the rake by the end of 2019 but there were glitches in tests.
“We needed the rake to clear the oscillation test and get CRS sanction. In the past six to seven months, we made significant progress in this direction. All mandatory tests were done and the rake cleared them. Three days back, we got the sanction,” said Arora.