Alstom India has been playing a key role in helping the country in the mission of creating infrastructure of metro lines in various cities. Currently, the company is executing metro projects in several cities including Chennai, Kochi, Lucknow, etc. where it is supplying Rolling Stocks. These projects are being executed from the company's plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. While introducing the plant, Alain Spohr, Managing Director, Alstom India & South Asia says, "This plant became operational in 2014 and since then it has been working on numerous domestic and international projects." The plant comprises of three main shops namely Car Body Shell Shop, Fitting Shop and Bogie Integration Shop. Detailing on the manufacturing processes, he says, "The Car Body Shell shop predominantly takes care of all exterior fittings including doors and windows. Also, the bogie is tested for any leakages before it moves ahead in the manufacturing process."

Continuing further he says, "The next stop for the bogie is the Fitting Shop. The scope of work here includes mostly electrical & electronic equipment fittings. Again, testing and quality checks is a part of day-to-day routine tasks in the Fitting Shop as it is of paramount important to have all cables and wires to be connected properly. Lastly, bogie is taken to the Body Assembly Shop for rest of the fittings are integrated."

Of course, the process is not as simple and calls for expertise. "Metros manufacturing is a specialised job. More specifically, welding required for the metros manufacturing is very peculiar and calls for welders having specific skill sets. Hence, any new welder that joins our team undergoes rigorous training for three months." Also, the plant is EN Welding certified. Speaking on certification and awards, this plant is ISO9001, ISO14001, OHSAS 18001 certified and had also bagged The Machinist Super Shopfloor Awards 2018 in the category of Productivity (Large Enterprises).

Some of the other key features of the Sri City facility include energy efficient design, double insulation, heat recovery systems, a geothermal heating and cooling system that consumes less energy and rainwater recycling.

Apart from environment-friendly manufacturing processes, yet another aspect that the plant gives importance to is maintenance. "Unexpected breakdown of any machine may cause for downtime for the entire plant. To avoid such situation, we regularly undertake preventive maintenance," informs Spohr.

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