Mumbai’s 3rd AC local arrives this week, trials to start soon

The train, which will operate on the Western Railway (WR) line, will be open for public after the monsoon following trial runs.

Mumbai’s third air conditioned (AC) local train will arrive in Mumbai this week.

The new AC local, which is on its way to Mumbai, crossed Wardha on Tuesday afternoon. (HT Photo)

The train, which will operate on the Western Railway (WR) line, will be open for public after the monsoon following trial runs.

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, manufacturing AC local trains for the city, dispatched the third train,which crossed Wardha on Tuesday afternoon.

Since December 2017, when Mumbai got its first AC local, 54.58 lakh passengers have used it, generating a revenue of ₹23.92 crore. The WR said its highest earnings from the AC local was in April 2019, when 4.47 lakh people used it, bringing in ₹1.84 crore in revenue. The second highest earning was in October 2018 at ₹1.82 crore.

The new AC local will have its inbuilt software tested before it is opened for public use.

“The third AC local has its electronics placed in the underslung of the train. After the success of Train 18 [Vande Bharat Express], it was decided all trains will have similar placement of electronics,” said a senior ICF official, on condition of anonymity.

The placement of electronics in the underslung of a train increases the passenger carrying capacity by an additional 2,000 commuters. The current AC train has a capacity of 5,000 commuters with a seating capacity of 1,036 passengers.

The second AC local train that arrived in March is also a similar prototype train and is currently undergoing trials on the WR.

The trials will last till after the monsoon and the train will be introduced on the suburban railway track.The first AC local arrived in 2016, but was open for passenger operations only in December 2017.