Railway Ministry scraps long-delayed tender of 238 Mumbai AC local trains, targets first batch by 2027

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Pic/videograb

The Railway Ministry on Wednesday scrapped the long-delayed tender for 238 Mumbai AC local train rakes floated by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), opting instead for simultaneous production at three railway manufacturing units to speed up deliveries to Mumbai.

The move is aimed at ensuring that the first batch of new AC local trains enter service by 2027, with the entire fleet targeted for delivery by 2030.

238 AC rakes to be manufactured at three railway units

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the 238 rakes will now be manufactured simultaneously at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala and Modern Coach Factory (MCF) in Rae Bareli.

"Mumbai local is the lifeline of the city. The entire procurement was going to 2030 and that was not acceptable to us," Vaishnaw said.

He added that the first deliveries are expected in 2027 under the revised manufacturing plan.

Tender scrapped to speed up AC train production

An official said the earlier procurement process was scrapped to expedite the production of AC local trains and align their induction with ongoing capacity augmentation projects.

An assessment of the procurement timeline through technology partners had indicated that series production would take around three years to begin. Under the earlier timeline, the first rake was expected only by 2030, with the complete fleet by 2034.

The revised strategy is expected to bring forward the first delivery to 2027 and complete the supply of all 238 rakes by 2030.

AC locals to align with new railway infrastructure

MRVC Chairman and Managing Director Vilas S Wadekar said the revised approach will align the induction of AC rakes with the commissioning of new corridors, additional lines and other capacity augmentation works.

He said the accelerated manufacturing strategy would allow Mumbaikars to benefit from AC suburban travel substantially earlier.

Rs 22,000 crore being invested in capacity expansion

Around Rs 22,000 crore is being invested in capacity augmentation of Mumbai's suburban railway network.

The investment covers new corridors, additional railway lines, platform extensions to accommodate 15-coach trains and yard remodelling, among other measures aimed at strengthening the city's suburban rail network.