Hyderabad Metro moves to add 60 coaches as DMRC invites global bids

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has invited international bids for 60 new coaches for the Hyderabad Metro, acting on behalf of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL), the state-owned company that now runs the network. The tender, made public in October, puts the estimated value of the contract at Rs 923.62 crore, including taxes and duties but excluding GST.

The contract covers the design, manufacture, supply and commissioning of standard-gauge coaches, training for staff, and comprehensive maintenance of the trainsets and the related depot equipment for 15 years. Delhi Metro International Limited is also part of the implementation arrangement.

Why the extra coaches matter

Every train on the network’s three elevated corridors now runs with three coaches. HMRL has said that more coaches will ease pressure on capacity as ridership grows and the city spreads outward.

The new coaches are not meant to be simply attached to existing trains. HMRL Managing Director Sarfaraz Ahmad said in November 2025 that train configurations would be decided by route needs and passenger footfall, and that four-coach and six-coach sets were under consideration. In January 2026, HMRL said the 60 coaches would be procured as new six-coach train sets.

Ahmad also said that, once an order is placed, the coaches would take around two years to arrive in Hyderabad, and that train frequency could eventually be brought down to as little as two minutes.

First big step after the takeover

The tender comes about six months after the Telangana government took full control of the 69-km Phase I network from Larsen & Toubro. The state assumed ownership and operations from 1 May 2026, in a transaction capped at Rs 15,000 crore: about Rs 2,000 crore for L&T’s equity and about Rs 13,000 crore of debt taken over.

HMRL had said in November 2025 that buying new coaches could formally begin only after the handover from L&T was complete. A new HMRL board and a 10-member high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary were set up to oversee the transition.

The expansion of the network itself is a separate question. In January 2026, HMRL said Phase II, about 162 km of new corridors, was under technical review at the national level.

What happens next

Bids will be evaluated before the contract is awarded to a manufacturer. If the order is placed in the coming months, HMRL’s own two-year estimate would put the first of the new coaches on Hyderabad’s tracks around 2028.