Mumbai To Get 238 Metro-Style AC Locals With Cushioned Seats, Faster Speeds

Mumbai’s suburban rail network is set for a major upgrade with 238 new air-conditioned (AC) local trains to be rolled out over the next three years, promising metro-style comfort, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Rs 19,293-crore project, under MUTP-3 and 3A, aims to replace existing coaches with single vestibuled AC ones, doing away with the six-vestibule division in current 12-car rakes.

While inaugurating MMRDA projects at Bandra Kurla Complex on Thursday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the new coaches would have closed doors similar to metro rail systems.

He added that he had requested Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw not to raise ticket fares when the new AC local trains are introduced.

Vilas Wadekar, chairperson and managing director of the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), said the tender would cover 2,856 AC coaches, forming 12-car suburban trains. He added that tenders for these AC local trains would be floated very soon.

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The trains will feature cushioned seats to replace cold steel ones, mobile charging points next to every seat, infotainment systems, and air-conditioned vendor compartments at both ends.

Officials said electric powering will increase from 33 per cent to 50 per cent, allowing quicker acceleration and deceleration to offset the 15-20 seconds lost to automatic door operation.

“For the first time, an EMU (local train) will have a speed potential of 130 kmph, which we plan to introduce through these new AC local trains. At present, these trains have the potential to run at 100-110 kmph. This will help on the Fast corridor,” a railway official was quoted as saying by HT.

Two new EMU car sheds are planned, one at Bhivpuri on the Central Railway and another at Vangaon on the Western Railway, and both will be run by the private manufacturer.

After tenders are issued, it could take three to six months to finalise a contractor. From there, building the prototype will take about two years, with full-scale production starting only after that.

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