Advertisement
The Gulf conflict has disrupted global supply chains, pushed...
REITs have changed the way commercial real estate is owned a...
What does it take to preserve a real estate legacy while bui...
What really powers the cloud? Behind every Google search, A...
A lot of what defines a home isn’t visible at handover. I...
Mumbai’s planned fleet of 238 air-conditioned suburban train rakes will now be manufactured at three Railway production units instead of being procured through the earlier international tender. The decision is aimed at bringing the first 12-coach AC local into service in 2027 and completing the entire fleet by 2030. The trains, comprising 2,856 coaches, are estimated to cost INR 19,293 crore. The revised plan comes after the earlier tender process faced delays and did not receive the expected response. The manufacturing programme will run alongside ongoing suburban railway capacity expansion works across Mumbai.
Mumbai’s plan to procure 238 air-conditioned suburban train rakes has been revised, with the trains now set to be manufactured at three production units of the Indian Railways. The move is expected to bring the first 12-coach AC local train into service in 2027, while the complete fleet is targeted for induction by 2030.
Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) Chairman and Managing Director Vilas Wadekar said the first rake under the revised programme will be procured in 2027. The entire fleet will consist of 238 rakes, comprising 2,856 coaches, and has an estimated rolling-stock cost of INR 19,293 crore.
The trains, planned as Vande Metro suburban rakes, will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala and Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Raebareli.
The decision follows delays in the earlier procurement process. MRVC had invited international bids for the 238 AC rakes along with their lifetime maintenance in June 2023. Although the deadline for submitting bids was extended several times, the corporation did not receive the expected response.
The original tender had been issued after the Railway Board approved the procurement in May 2023. Under that arrangement, the selected bidder was required to manufacture prototype rakes over two years, followed by five years of series production at an average rate of around 50 trains a year.
The earlier plan would have resulted in series production beginning only after about three years. MRVC said its assessment showed that the first rake would have become available only in 2030, while the complete fleet would have been delivered by 2034. The revised arrangement is intended to bring forward the first induction by around three years and complete the fleet earlier.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the earlier procurement process had faced several problems. The Union government subsequently decided to use the three Railway production units so that manufacturing could begin sooner and the first local train could arrive in 2027.
The earlier tender also included a wider maintenance responsibility. The successful bidder was required to establish new maintenance depots at Vangaon in Palghar district and Bhivpuri in Raigad district, upgrade existing maintenance facilities and undertake comprehensive annual maintenance of the trains and depots for 35 years.
The revised manufacturing programme is being aligned with the expansion of Mumbai’s suburban railway network. According to MRVC, around INR 22,000 crore is being invested in capacity augmentation works, including new railway corridors, additional lines, extension of platforms to accommodate 15-coach trains and yard remodelling.
A senior MRVC official said the revised manufacturing schedule would allow the AC rakes to be inducted alongside the commissioning of new corridors and other capacity augmentation projects. This is intended to ensure that additional rolling stock is available as the network’s infrastructure capacity increases.
The AC local procurement is part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) 3. The MUTP-III and MUTP-III-A projects have estimated costs of INR 10,947 crore and INR 33,690 crore, respectively, and include several works aimed at increasing the capacity of Mumbai’s suburban railway system.
The simultaneous development of train capacity and supporting infrastructure is important for Mumbai’s suburban network, where new lines, upgraded yards and longer platforms are being taken up along with rolling-stock additions. The 238 AC rakes will therefore form part of a broader effort to increase the carrying capacity of the suburban system while improving passenger comfort and operational safety.
Source PTI
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
