In a significant development, Mumbai’s air-conditioned local trains will soon get a full 12-coach sitting arrangement, similar to non-AC ones, with walkthrough design, reports stated.
This development came after a massive spike in the crowd in AC locals post lockdown, which was initiated owing to COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.
Railway officials stated that the objective is to develop a migration strategy for conventional local trains to AC local trains in an efficient manner from the operation point of view with least inconvenience to commuters.
According to a new set of guidelines and regulatory approvals issued by the Indian Railways on Monday, December 5, will permit a full 12-coach walkthrough design for air-conditioned local trains to be manufactured in the future.
Report in Midday stated that the completely vestibuled AC local train, with all electrical and equipment underslung near the wheels, will be able to ferry more passengers than regular AC trains, and one such test train is at the Mumbai Central station.
The other items that will be provided to the new set of AC local trains include a fire detection system and automatic smoke and fire detection alarms. The motorman/guard will also have entry/exit provision from the passenger area.
Though there has been improvement with regards to the aesthetics, the railway board has asked manufacturers to engage an expert in interior designing to further improve the decor, overall look of the train from outside, colour scheme and driver’s cab in future trains.
There is a long-term plan to convert the entire fleet of Mumbai local trains into AC locals.
With this in mind, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has now appointed Systra as consultants on how to migrate the existing Mumbai local train fleet to AC locals with least inconvenience to commuters.
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