Mumbai’s second , ‘cooler’ AC local expected by January 15

The new AC local will have all its electrical equipment in the underslung of the train which will increase the carrying capacity of the train up to 2,000 additional commuters.

Mumbai’s second air-conditioned (AC) local train is expected to arrive in the city by January 15 after the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai dispatched the rake, according to sources.

File photo of Mumbai’s first AC suburban local train. (HT File)

It is, however, not yet decided if the train will be operated by the Central or Western Railway (WR). The local train that has been dispatched is a new and improved version of the existing AC train that runs on the WR. The trials of the new trains are likely to occur on the western line.

The new AC local will have all its electrical equipment in the underslung of the train and will be a completely vestibuled train. The electrics in the underslung of the train will increase the carrying capacity of the train up to 2,000 additional commuters. The city’s only AC local train has a carrying capacity of 6,000 commuters with 1,028 sitting passenger capacity.

“The local has left from ICF Chennai and should arrive in Mumbai by January 15. The train is a new prototype fitted with modern technology,” said a senior ICF official.

The Railway Board — the apex body of all zonal railways — in a letter on December 2 has written to the ICF on detailed classification of AC local trains. The board in the letter has stated that on a priority basis, two AC local train, out of 12 AC rakes, would arrive in the central railway.

On the new prototype with electrics on the underslung, the railway board has stated, “An AC local train with underslung is being manufactured for the first time. Production of 10 trains will be initiated only after the introduction of the prototype.”